Lords of Gongmen
by LoudCloud
Summary: "Then I will kill them, and make you wrong." The Soothsayer has made a new prediction, after the last one failed. AU.
1. Chapter 1

_This chapter was not meant to be this long. And updates won't be regular; I have ideas for this, but many different scenarios. This will not be a redemption fic, as least not for the majority. Maybe not at all. Shen is deranged, and shall cast aside his family for anything. This scenario also came from the idea that Po died along with his parents; Tigress is the Dragon Warrior. I'm thinking about exploring, in more depth, the consequences of that for her._

 _Also, ocs. And an original family called 'Guo' a Noble House, once of Gongmen, who come into play later. Guo comes from the chinese word for 'Boundary'. (In certain contexts, as in the Boundary of a country.)_

* * *

Chapter 1

Parting Gift

A sizzle.

In far off lands, a red sky in the evening signified a sign of prosperity. A sign of easy travels; of luck. That fading sunlight cast thick shadows upon the courtyard, the but the buildings blackened against it like they'd been burnt. The smell of ash and fire rose into the soft breeze of the fading day, a foul smell that stung at the eye.

Masters Croc and Ox were staring, transfixed. It happened so quickly. One moment their friend and fellow had been standing between them; hammer aloft, poise ready, and then he wasn't.

The noise was unlike any they had heard in their lives and neither of them could call themselves youthful. Perhaps it was akin to an earthquake, a shatter, and a crackling spark all at once. At yet the sprinkled sound of pretty fireworks was tossed in as well... like seasoning to a horribly spoiled dish. Croc and Ox, lain on their sides in mid-recovery, stared at the crevice in the stone where Master Thundering Rhino had been seconds before. Croc's lean snout moved first, and he saw the hammer. Not his friend. The hammer - poised unevenly, embedded deep in the courtyard floor. And past it was a shape, lying still and stiff.

The Soothsayer was silent, her face bare and eyes broad, old body trapped in a half-standing movement. She leaned on her cane, gawking at the body lying in the dust and dirt. Ox was the last to see, and the first to break.

His roar tore through the air and he was on his feet; horns down and back arched as he charged full tilt towards the contraption – the thing – that had slain his comrade. The shock wavered from the old goat's face long enough for her to call after him, he warn him off – but he did not listen; his weapon lifting –

The figure cloaked by the shadow of the Tower lifted a crooked talon; eyes narrow and bright, and the machine sparked to life once again. Croc moved fast, slinking down; evasive, his mind swimming incoherently with years of old teachings – unknown enemy, avoid and learn, do not engage until –

"OX!" His smooth voice did not sound right in a shriek. The machine fired; the spitting metal spinning towards the sprinting Ox with the speed of an arrow. Croc sprang; his tail curling around the other Master's horn and he tugged. Pulling the Ox's massive weight onto his own, he tipped him out of the way. He narrowly missed being struck by the spinning ball. The thing glazed the floor; parallel to the last, and it crashed into the doorway of the Palace behind them with a crack. The air around it scorched and the Soothsayer ducked her head to avoid the burn.

Ox and Croc clattered to the floor in a mess of fallen weapons. Ox's breathing was laboured, Croc's chest rising and falling rapidly. The two Masters hadn't been so shaken by something, not in decades.

A husky, onward chortle dragged them from their second spell of shock and they stared upwards, gaping, at the white peacock perched upon the weapon.

"I _do_ hope you like it." He crooned. His grey-lidded eyes where narrowed, his wings tucked together into each long sleeve, perfectly composed. Coupled with his smirk, the deranged air around him made their insides curl.

" _Murderer."_ Ox rasped at last, where he and Croc lay on the stone floor. Wolves where circling them, none bothering to run. They were not fools. Whatever this weapon was, it was beyond them. Beyond their strengths. They were trained for years to think this way, and to not think of the body lying crooked mere meters away.

But it burned. It took all they were not to cave. The wolves' lances pointed down on them one by one in a perfect circle; the swoop of metal like a rush of music. Ox bore his teeth; Croc curled his hands. Shen tilted his head, admiring the Palace before him. He didn't bother to look at them, the body, or even the silent Soothsayer. Her old, hunched form lay too far from them to read her expression, but she was still. Very still, like a little old statue.

"Is it murder to be the fair victor in battle?" Shen drawled smoothly, "It was a fair match as far as I could see." A hulking ape shuffled over to the weapon. He held out a burly arm and Lord Shen stepped, elegantly stiff, onto his arm and back onto the ground, his arms remaining neatly tucked together. He grazed the two Masters with a leering smile as he strode by, painfully slow.

"Thank you _ever_ so much for keeping the place up to standards." The two stared at the back of his head as he moved across the yard; his men pouring along the neat stone like poison in a clear glass drink. Lord Shen's clinking feet finally came to a halt before the body of Master Rhino, and he leaned down as if expecting something as innocent as a flower.

He lay in one piece, unexpectedly. His early quip would have held more ground if it had actually happened. Perhaps he would have looked upon this incident with more amusement; but he'd settle with pride. The body that once was one of China's greatest warriors lay face down. Hiding most of the damage to the chest, which on closer exception, he could see had caved in. There was no great amount of blood; but he saw it staining the dark robes around the neck, the abdomen. It had crushed him inside and caved him like an old building. Shen, a smooth smile flickering onto his beak, straightened up and began towards the Soothsayer.

Composure was the old woman's finest point, and now she could have won a prize. Her eyes where splits, her hoof tight upon the tip of her cave; the only thing giving her away. The winding wood of it ground into the floor like a root from a tree. "Do you feel nothing, Shen? No remorse? Lying there was a _Good Man_."

"Was, Old Goat." Shen returned shortly, his smile gone. With a slicing of metal his feet moved again, his left wing waving to one of the apes flanking him. "Bring her with us into the Palace. Toss the rabble into the dungeon."

He glanced over his shoulder, and a ghost of a smile returned to him, "Remind them that if they so much as think about escaping and trying to stop me, I'll be giving more 'gifts' to the people." With a curt nod, the ape ambled away, while the other landed a thick hand on the heavy shoulder of the Soothsayer. Slowly, she began walking along, shrugging it off. Making no moves to struggle.

She watched as the Ox and Crocodile where nudged away, their heads bent, backs stiff. She could see the mourning begin to sink onto them at last, and her sorrowful gaze fell upon Master Rhino's body. Shen nodded towards the Leading Wolf once, and she watched, perplexed, as it seized hold of the Hammer. He lifted it, and lodged it into the crevice trail left by the blast.

The ribbon wound around it fluttered aimlessly in the breeze.

...

The Master's Council effectively destabilised, Shen took the city exactly overnight. The authority beneath the Masters; the Elk and Deer Guard and any other policing force, had no choice but to surrender as Ox and Croc had done. The Canon, as Lord Shen had called it, had struck down a warrior capable of taking down thousands of vicious serpent fighters, in the space of a second. And the peacock was quick to alert him that he had more.

So it was with sombre resignation that the lean Deer-Guard poised around the Palace dropped their lances and hung their heads. That night, wolves swarmed the city; on every corner. Huddled and terrified, the people where forbidden to send word out – but the news got out anyway. By that time, morning had come, and Shen's forces had sunk their claws deep into the city. The people where all hostages, every single one.

The Soothsayer would have been amused on any other morning at Shen's next antics. While the ape guard placed her in the throne room, back among her rug, potions and herbs, the Peacock took his time scaling the Palace stairs. When he finally emerged, she could sense the dark aura around him. Not cold, but gripping; a weight in the air drifted in with him like a cloud of unseen smoke. His wings folded neatly before him and his eyes like slits, his calmness was nerve wracking.

He strode towards the throne. Blue, gold, green; metal plates arranged like a perfect fan. Shen's voice was soft and smooth; a near hush. "My father's throne."

The Soothsayer idly swayed her bowl around and around, watching him quietly. Her mouth came ajar when she saw him wave a wing to two more apes – hulking into the throne room, carrying the same weapon that had struck down the Master below.

A cluster of wolves seized the throne; two others slid the doors aside, and the throne was tossed clean out of the Palace. The Soothsayer's hand fell on her chin, but she said nothing. Instead she cast Shen a heated look. He caught it, and smiled callously in return.

...

The tiger moved through the mountain side's moss-covered boulders in silence. Back straight, arms moving slowly, shifting against the yellow garment she was clad in. Her head lifting, she caught a dampness in the air. She heard a leave move nearby as a twinkle of water fell from its tip and to the ground. Exhaling slowly, she moved to the caves.

It had been years since she had been made the Dragon Warrior. She had expected a great deal of change to have overcome the valley, China, even. The Legend of the Dragon Warrior had been widespread for centuries. But, with the spreading cities and differing forces throughout the land in recent years, one warrior more wasn't much.

She did not complain. She had done her duty. The past few years had been quiet. She had improved. With Oogway's passing, her master had taken his place, and she his. The Five remained as they where, fighting beside her. Perhaps that much change hadn't been needed.

A crinkle nearby made her head snap up. A butterfly bobbed through the air aimlessly; knocking against some plants. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and moved onward.

Standing, as still as a statue, his back to her, was a small figure clocked in brown and green; large ears unmoving. He was crouched upon a staff, stood elegantly within the pool. The mountain's mist faded here. She moved closer.

"Tigress."

"Master."

Her hands lifted together and she bowed. Shifu turned, his thin fingers together, her eyes grave. "I have sensed a great disturbance. Of what, I do not know – but you and the five must be prepared."

"Yes, Master." Tigress's eyes narrowed. "Nothing is out of the ordinary in the valley, however."

"Then an outside force it must be." Shifu leaped and landed upon the moss beside her, twirling the staff into both hands. Frowning openly, he went on, "I have a feeling we'll hear word soon enough."

"You have been up here for some time, Master." Tigress ventured evenly. Shifu gazed down at the staff in his hands; moving his palm along the wood.

"I have been meditating to balance myself. You would do well to do the same, Dragon Warrior."

"I am balanced. I just keep myself alert. It is my duty." Tigress said, the slightest note of defence crossing her voice. Shifu placed his hands behind his back; staff with it.

"As you always have, Dragon Warrior." The slightest smile tugged at the corner of the old man's lips. Tigress, for a second, nearly felt one pull at her face, too.

"Thank you, Master."

"Master Shifu! Dragon Warrior!"

A mallard messenger, who's named escaped Tigress, came stumbling around the rocks. Her brow furrowed; no-one outside of Kung Fu teachings came here unless -

Tigress' first curled instantly, "What is it?!"

"A m-message from Gongemen City, Masters!" The duck was quivering like a leaf in the wind. Shifu's gaze hardened and he held out a hand. The water fowl held out the scroll, trembling, and ducked back as soon as the Red Panda swiped it from his grip. Shifu pulled it open without delay. Behind him, Tigress found her eyes drawn to the scroll before she could stop them.

Her brows lifted.

"Master Thundering Rhino is dead?"

...

"This was no technique."

They where sat in the courtyard within the Jade Palace; a tree hanging above them; green grass cushioning their feet. Pillars tangled with plants and carvings shielded them from the wind, but no amount of scenery comfort could lift the weight in the air.

Tigress stood before Shifu again; Mantis and Crane on one side, Monkey and Viper on the other. Their faces stricken with alarm. The tiger, however, kept her hands planted firmly behind her. She could see Viper's concerned glance from the corner of her eye, but she refused to look back.

"Lord Shen has returned after thirty years of banishment, and has created a weapon that burns fire, and spits metal." Shifu paced back and forth, her face hard, "You must stop him before he spreads this destruction any further – these methods..."

"How could any warrior use such a low move?" Crane inquired, a wing raised, "It's – it's no show of strength, to use some kind of weapon that you can't even hold."

"Shen is beyond pride or honor." Shifu returned roughly, staring each of them in the eye, "Remember this when you confront him. He is deranged, and dangerous. He single handily took town two opposing noble houses, a city overnight, and an entire species."

The five glanced downward. Viper's head the heaviest.

"We destroy Shen, and the weapon. Any trace of it." Tigress elaborated stiffly. "No one else can build another."

"Indeed." Shifu said, striking Oogway's staff onto the ground with a tap, "This could be the end of Kung Fu. This kind of dark machinery cannot be possessed by anyone, friend or foe."

"Yes, Master." The five bent their heads, hands together. Then, they turned, whipping back and breaking into their runs. Tigress took the lead; soaring up onto the shingled rooftops and off the side of the wall, the others collecting behind her.

"Tigress, we have to take our time with this." Viper called, sliding by her side. Tigress shot her a scathing look.

"I can handle this. Keep the focus on Shen."

...

"Look into your bowl, and tell me what glory awaits me."

It had been so many years. The Soothsayer remembered it well. She stared down at the ashes in her bowl, feeling the weight upon her return. It had dwelled there, in the back of her mind, for thirty years. She remembered the prediction; A peacock is defeated by a warrior of black and white. A panda. But there had been an 'if'. And in Soothsaying, ifs were a large piece of the process. Of course, sometimes it seemed they were meaningless. Most predictions that began with 'If' ended with 'It most certainly will'. Or at least, they were treated that way.

"Are you sure the truth will be something you will like?" The Soothsayer ventured slowly, her eyes perhaps the tiniest bit narrow again. "I recall your last reaction."

Shen laughed briefly, striding down the stairs as he went, "Oh, I recall it well. Whatever your predictions may throw my way, I assure you, I am strong enough to endure." He paused, his talons clinking. "So. Get on with it."

"I predicted the pandas." She interrupted quietly; swishing around the ashes in a cup, her gaze fixed on the bowl at her old feet. "I did not give you any reason to suspect the Guo Family."

Shen's eyes narrowed and he glared at her darkly. "How do you know about that?"

"It wasn't a secret through the Courts. You are almost lucky that your parents had long passed before. The pandas may have stood in your way, but the Guo Family were trusted friends of theirs."

"They brought it on themselves." Shen drawled, idly pacing around the spot where she sat, his voice low, "I have no time for any boundary in my way. They were a threat. In order for success in this world, you must destroy those boundaries."

"You left them with almost nothing." The Soothsayer remarked, reproachful, "And your reasons are still not clear."

"Hmph. We are not here to discuss the Guo family." The white peacock snapped, his voice raising just a tad, "You are here to tell me my –"

"Fortune?"

"...I was going to say future." Shen replied stonily, "Now tell me."

It happened in a split second. Her hooves reached out and plucked a feather from his wing. He drew back with a startled yelp; next came the tearing of fabric.

"How _dare-?"_

"Many times have you consulted what may be one path among thousands. Remember this." The Soothsayer told him quietly, "The most important time is now, Shen. But if you really _wish_ to see the most prominent future..."

Into the bowl she tossed her powder; it ignited like fire onto the feather and fabric. Shen's scowl faded and his eyes grey wide. His voice but a murmur, "What do you see...?"

The Soothsayer did not pay him heed. She lifted her head, her hooves moving with the smoke drifting between them. The silvery smog took the shape of a peacock; the faintest of calls echoing against the walls.

Lord Shen, she read, clear. On this path...

"A peacock..."

The shapes contorted, and colour pooled into the smoke. Red and brown, green and blue, twirling on either side of the white peacock's silhouette.

Her face grew stony. She felt a coldness set into her chest, but her face, as always, through years of witnessing horrors yet to come, remained still.

"What is this?"

She did not reply. The two shapes on either side swung downward, as if striking the peacock between them. Red-brown, Green-blue, and the misshapen form of the peacock morphed into the shape of the very Tower they stood upon. Unmistakable. Her brow furrowed.

Shen's scowl wavered with barely hidden worry. Worry that turned to poison. The smoke faded into an empty cloud between them. The Soothsayer bowed her head. She breathed, her hooves together.

"What? What did you see?" Shen's voice, growing more uneven by the syllable.

The Soothsayer had never lied. Never once in all of her many, many years, had she hidden the truth of her vision, for hiding what she saw would deal worse consequences than whatever grief her blatant words dealt to the listener.

"...Someone else has been born. Someone else shall stand in your way, should you continue on your path." Her voice was empty, and she stared back at him as his calmness gave way to fury, boiling up inside him. Stretching his face till it brimmed with barely suppressed rage. "And if you do not relent, they will bring you down, and take the throne of Gongmen City."

Shen's face flashed. His wing whipped out; a dagger struck the bowl, shattering it to pieces. He swirled, and with a whip of his tail he cast the remaining smoke aside. His foot struck the ground before her; metal shielding clinking.

He let out a hollow laugh, his chest barely moving. "That is absurd, and you _know_ it."

"It is not absurd. You vanquished your right to Gongmen on the day you cast aside your honor." Her voice was firm, but then it gave away. Softer. "It is not too late, Shen. Even now. This future need not become what it is if you choose to change it."

"My parents died without an heir aside from me. There are no others who can claim right." He turned away, placing his wings together and glaring around. Thinking hard. "Whoever you believe it will fall to, they shall not have it."

The Soothsayer sighed gently. Then, Shen's head tilted. Turned and glared back at her, his eyes unreadable. "...And who exactly is it you have in mind?"

"That what not revealed. A specific Panda wasn't, either." She replied.

"You just don't want to admit you're wrong." Shen retorted smugly, sneering unpleasantly. The Soothsayer stood, a small smirk of her own on her face,

"I'll be sure to remember that during your next disappointment."

"Very well. If you do not tell me willingly, I shall find other methods." He crooned, beginning back along the marble floor. The Soothsayer felt her brow crease, but she said nothing. Shen turned to one of the wolf guards,

"Have the _hooves_ from every Deer Guard of this palace _removed_."

"Shen."

He turned his gaze back at her, peacefully smug. Scowling quietly, the Soothsayer sat back down. Shen would, undoubtedly, continue on this path. So if he did, what she saw would indeed come to pass. Something in her told her to tell him.

She hoped, to whatever powers that bestowed her ability to her, that this time it wouldn't result in tragedy.

She plucked another feather; tore another piece of robe ("Will you _stop_ that – ") And placed them into the bowl. Wordlessly, she tossed the ashes to the new bowl, and the smoke lifted again.

Shen's slit-like eyes watched her closely.

"A peacock..."

The smoke moved.

"Shall be defeated by his children, and they shall take the Throne, harsh and decisive, caring and merciful."

Shen's wide, ruby red eyes stared up at the smoke in disbelief. Then his eyes turned cold. It seemed an eternity passed before he broke from the spell.

He slammed a taloned foot down upon the second bowl. It shattered, and the Soothsayer stared up at him wordlessly.

"... _Impossible_." He hissed down at her, pupils dilated, eyes wide and blazing. "I have _no children."_

"It is not impossible." She replied loftily, a slight shrug passing her shoulders. Shen remained in that stance for a very, very long time. Perhaps he hoped staring violently at her would make the truth in her words falter. But she knew. If the future foretold it, then there was a possibility. One he was aware of. At last, his feathers bristled. Whatever inward storm had raged, he was finding a sail.

He straightened up slowly, his face still frozen. He blinked once, twice, before again placing each wing together within his sleeves. "... _No one_ stands in my way, Soothsayer." He began stalking away from her, his posture stiff. "No enemy, no blood, no ties."

"Someone shall." She said, a small smile gracing her lips. "You know that I am right."

Shen paused in his walk; His head lifted, a smooth smile spreading across his beak with his next words, coated with malice. "Then I will _kill_ them. And make you _wrong."_

* * *

 _So this was going to be a 'reveal' story. I am your father Darth Vader moment. Or reverse. But that's bee done._

 _But this is more of a 'I am your father, and I'm going to find you and kill you' moment. DRAMA._


	2. Chapter 2

_Qiánxíng is pronounced 'Chin-zing' I'm pretty sure. Review if you have the time, please,I hope you enjoy. I wasn't going to update so quickly, I'm tired, it's half past four in the morning, but inspiration struck me. This chapter and the next few will be around six pages, smaller than the first chapter. It wasn't meant to go on that long._

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Chapter 2

Issue

To the west of Gongmen lay the foggy and damp dwellings owned by the Guo Family. Descended from Nobles, and owning a great majority of land amidst the hills, the Guo stronghold lay between two mountains. One was tall and untouched; rigid against the sky. On the other side, the thicker mountain looked as if it had been sliced in two; leaving ledges of flat, layered land that was covered in paddy fields. The stronghold lay in narrow parting between each mountain; _Shan Jian_. Surrounding the square building, with its curving roofs and dark violet pillars, were rather ugly wooden walls made of thick trunks and spikes. Any intruder would have a tough time navigating the narrow mountain road, and if they got past that, even more trouble with the walls. There was a single gate on one side; the only way in, only way out.

Carved into the heavy wooden gate was a symbol; painted in blue and green. Two peacock tail trails; facing each other like mirrored fans.

The messenger hurried through the narrow valley path towards the stronghold, huffing violently as he went; speeding as far as his little hooves would allow.

He nearly tripped upon reaching the gate. Two boars stepped forward, spears at the ready. He threw up his hooves in fright, "Wait! I bring news from Gongmen, urgent for Lord Zhou!"

The two boards exchanged a glance.

...

A cup of herbal tea lay lukewarm and forgotten on the desk; various wooden tables, barely off the ground, sat littered with scrolls, papers and books. Atop a pile of stacked parchment sat one particular scroll; the painted characters only half done. In the centre of the crowded study, upon a simple mat that was encrypted with the same reed patterns as the shoji doors, sat a peacock. Tall but thin with an average tail; clad in bold blue feathers but a faded green upon his crest. A pair of sharp brown eyes glared down at the scrolls, his wings set upon the table. His brown beak was set in an irritable frown.

"Hmm."

"So..."

He glanced sideways. A peahen stood in the doorway; leaning upon the shoji screen. A blend of brown and green feathers, and a similar brown beak, the peahen would have perhaps been pretty at a first glance, adorned in a green robe similar to her brother's. But she was sneering in a way that poisoned any beauty she may have had, that and her rather sharp eyes and dull colouring. "Has your message reached the Master's Council?"

"I should have received word weeks ago." Zhou grumbled lowly, "I haven't had so much as a note."

"Pity. How long are we meant to scrape by on what resources we have left?" She'd been admiring the tips of her wing, but dropped it to her side with an angry flop. "Thanks to that little _fiasco_ with the white menace, we have little to no power left."

"We have the land." Zhou shot back, tacking up a brush and beginning to finish the characters on the scroll. "I won't risk sending another letter, however. Sensitive information like that is hard to keep under wraps as it is."

"Which is why you where so frightened of sending out word in the first place. " The peahen jeered behind him. He huffed out a breath through his nose. He'd wrap himself up in a scroll and send himself to Gongmen if it meant ridding himself of her...

"Qiánxíng..."

"We could have settled this whole thing _years_ ago."

"The white menace would have found out. We needed time for him to forget." Zhou snapped, not even bothering to look behind him. "The Masters may not even believe us, but they'll be intrigued enough by the claim to investigate. It's a start."

Down the hall, there was a knock upon the last of the screen doors. The peahen shot a glare at her brother, watching as he stood, dusted himself off, and called:

"Yes?"

"Lord Zhou, a messenger from Gongmen has arrived, he says it's urgent, sir!" Zhou's face broke into a grin and he shot his sister a rather smug look.

"Speak of the devil. Excuse me."

He flipped by her like a kite past a tree. She eyed him reproachfully, and followed suit. She ran her mouth all the way down the hall. The Stronghold was made up of rather narrow halls and rooms; various square dwellings all huddled together. It made for little comfort, but less chance of an intruder being able to move about with say, a lance.

Zhou arrived in one of the only places where it was spacious; a marble-floor chamber with a high painted ceiling. Various pillars, littered unevenly like trees, hoisted up said roof. The marble floor, dark navy blue, was alit with candles on the dreary day. In the centre of the chamber was a gathering of tables and chairs; standing beside one of the chairs was the messenger, hoofed hands shivering. Zhou raised a long feathered brow at the odd behaviour, but brushed it aside.

"You have news from Gongmen? Have the Masters replied?"

"Y-yes, My Lord." The deer buck stammered quickly, stiffening in what he supposed was an attempt to appear more professional, "They request the presence of you and the – two in question – in Gongmen."

He held out a scroll. Zhou and Qiánxíng stared at each other, near gawking (very unflattering for two nobles) before the brother coughed and quickly took hole of the scroll.

"Dear Lord Zhou and Lady Qiánxíng..."

...

"Be sure to make it discreet. I don't want any sort of suspicion." Shen placed the feathers on his hand together; imitating a thumb and forefinger to signal perfection. Nearby sat a jittery deer, who was perhaps writing the most terrifying message of his life. The Soothsayer regarded the two nearby, noting the guards needlessly pointing their blades at the poor creature.

"Perhaps you should read their first message." The Soothsayer commented off-handedly. Shen's narrowed eyes graced her bitterly.

"What do you mean?"

"Lord Zhou Guo sent a carefully transported message to Masters Rhino, Croc and Ox." The old goat replied slowly, quietly churning the ashes in her bowl. Her eyebrow perked; "They made a request."

Shen shot a fierce look down at the messenger, who held up his hoofs in a quick gesture, "I did not know, sire, I didn't –"

"Silence!" In one sweep movement he'd kicked the deer messenger aside and stalked across the marble floor, "Find this message, bring it to –"

The Soothsayer was holding out her arm; the scroll, tipped with a green cap, gleamed in the early morning light. Shen slowly made his way towards her, eyes burning, and without so much as blinking he snatched the rolled up message from her hoof and pointedly ignored her smile.

With a flip he pulled it open, eyes scanning over the characters in a swift streak. "..."

 _To the Master's Council_

 _On behalf of our deceased relative, Lady Feng Wei, we have sent this message with great care so that only the counsel may know of our predicament. Our relative has borne two children without marrying, to a peacock whose identity she would not reveal to us until much later. She informed us that the father was none other than the former Lord Shen, who, as you know, was the last in line for the throne before his banishment._

 _The children are in our care and for their safety and our integrity; their existence has been kept quiet. But in these harsh times, we cannot support them. Therefore we graciously ask for your assistance in re-instating the two. We understand their illegitimacy compromises a lot of opportunity for them, but as Shen has no other relatives..._

"That slimy low-bred snake." Shen tossed the scroll onto the ground beside the Soothsayer, not bothering to read the rest. With a furious scowl he paced away; the deer messenger ducked as he went by. "Trying to 'graciously' leach riches from my city using the waifs as their bargain key."

"Waifs that are _yours."_ The Soothsayer replied reproachfully, watching the back of his head, "You do not seem to be taking this seriously, Shen.

"Of course I am." Shen replied, back to her still, evenly.

"You seemed unsurprised that Feng Wei passed away."

Shen's posture stiffened. For a moment the guards tensed and the messenger paled beneath his fur. But then Shen gave a muted, husky laugh. "She exists were she belongs, in a past mistake I will not be repeating." His smile quickly turned into a sneer. "I shall not discuss it."

The Soothsayer noted how tense his shoulders and neck were. She smiled, a hoof running down her beard. "I see."

Shen's eyes bulged once, but then a sickly sweet smile replaced his look. His expressions seemed to change quicker than a mantis blink. "She got her comeuppance, in the end."

The Soothsayer's smile was gone. The peacock turned away with a triumphant swish, looking back towards the messenger,

"Throw out the old scroll, I'm re-drafting." There was a terrified flip of paper and the messenger poised his brush. Shen paid no mind, sauntering slowly as he spoke,

"Dear Lord Zhou and Lady Qiánxíng..."

...

" _We offer our condolences for the passing of your relative. Your claim is a great surprise to us, as the former Lord Shen's whereabouts have been unknown for the past three decades. However, as there are no relatives lest of the ancestral family of the Gongmen Peacocks, we cannot ignore this possibility."_

He glanced up from the scroll at Qiánxíng, who for once wasn't sneering, smirking or narrowing her eyes – the two of them almost looked like children on Winter Festival. Eyes wide, Zhou looked back to the scroll, "Therefore we request your presence, along with the children's, at the Palace as soon as possible."

"They believe us." Qiánxíng breathed, a smirk finally spreading back to its cosy place on her beak, "Marvellous."

"We shouldn't bring the twins just yet." She did a double-take as her brother rolled back the scroll. He looked serious, but pleased none the less.

"What do you mean?"

"If you act too quickly, it could spoil our chances. And if they truly believe us, they may wish to take the two off our wings." Zhou prodded her shoulder with the scroll. She scowled,

"Ah. And if the stop believing us?"

"The Soothsayer they have – she may yet be able to determine the truth." Zhou noted with a feather in the air. "Yes –I believe things are looking up after the...incident."

"Pfft." Qiánxíng, most un-lady like, blew out a breath through the corner of her beak. "We'll see. Perhaps we should just bring one of them, then."

"...Hmm, good idea." She smirked openly; Zhou did his best to ignore it and pointed at a nearby servant.

"Bring Julan here."

...

 _She dreamed of the moment often, before and after it happened. The Dragon Warrior. She had only dared to dream of it. Dreaming and desiring something that could belong to anyone was a vice, she knew. It lead to the dangerous kind of loathing. Like Tai Lung. She'd only let herself wonder about the chance we would become the Dragon Warrior at certain moments. When she was small and she'd mastered her first Kung Fu Scroll. Her first level. First form. Fiftieth. Then, on the day she became a fully fledged master._

 _Don't expect it, she'd told herself during the Tournament. In her dreams she remembered the iron ox; the blades striking the ground right beside her, a centime away from her cheek. The pound of her heart when she heard the music and crowds die down to silence. The single nod from Shifu._

 _Twenty years she'd kept herself composed, but then, standing with her head bowed, paws together, it had taken every ounce of her ability not to shake. She was not afraid. How could she possibly be afraid? But her anticipation was burning inside her. She wanted the painful wait to be over, for Oogway to finally get done those stairs._

 _She'd been caught off guard. She couldn't breathe for a second when he pointed at her._

 _A smash of a gong, and the world exploded. She dreamed of that moment often. Until she was sick of the memory, sick to the stomach._

 _.._

"Hey, look!"

The group skidded to a halt. Tigress exhaled slowly through her nose to calm her temper. They weren't ever out of town yet; they'd only just crossed the bridge. However, Monkey had stopped in the street, staring down at something on the floor. He lifted it slowly.

In his hand was a hat. For a moment, Tigress thought it was a dish. A brow rising ever so slightly, she watched Monkey place it on his head. A noodle bowl made of yarn and thread. Monkey gave an easy grin. However, something else caught her attention. Lying to the side of the road, looking very dazed, was a goose. He was half-squashed by a very large pot. With a huff he tried to push it off himself, only to fail and flop down like a flattened sun lantern.

Tigress gripped the pot and lifted it easily. The goose gave a jump, swirling back into his knobbly legs. "Oh! Oh my, I did not see you there..." He peered at each of them, one by one. Then he spotted Monkey wearing the Noodle-Yarn hat and placed his hands on his hips, looking far from intimidating.

"That is company property, you!"

Tigress frowned and dropped the pot. Jokester or not, Monkey was a _Kung Fu Master_. "Excuse me?"

Monkey quickly placed the yarn hat back on the head of the goose. He straightened up and peered up at Tigress, "Thank you for your assistance, miss uh...?"

"Tigress." She replied flatly. The goose didn't seem to notice her tone at all,

"Would you like to try some noodle samples? Free, for your help!" He beamed, wings up. Crane tilted his head,

"Just samples...?"

"We're in a hurry." Tigress began moving. Viper smiled sheepishly at the goose, which blinked in surprise,

"Thank you very much, Mr Goose, but we're on a very important mission."

"Ah." The old goose shrugged slowly, "It is all right, I do not need excuses. Business is just not booming."

Tigress cast a look despite herself. A noodle shop sat behind the duck; a small, homey place led into by an arch. It looked very, very empty. "I am...sorry to hear that."

"Hmm." The old goose nodded quietly, eyes downcast, "Well, best be on my way to buy the vegetables." He began waddling back into the restaurant.

Mantis looked up, "Ya know, Tigress, maybe we could –"

Tigress was already down the street.

"Come one."

...

Tigress took the lead. Gongmen was too far to take the easy way. They would never stop Lord Shen in time. The Five began over the mountains, and even in the middle of the year when summer was still blazing the land, snow began falling in their path. Tigress had been in mountainous areas her whole life; snow did not bother her. She trekked ahead; Crane fighting against the cold wind. She felt the bitter ice in the air bite at her ears, her arms. With a small growl she flicked her head, dislodging flecks of snow caught in her fur.

"So what happens when we actually _get_ there?" Tigress looked down. Mantis was slowly moving along by her foot; digging his sharp feet into the snow to keep the wind from blowing him away. "We do have a plan, right?"

"We gather information and keep out of sight." Tigress replied over the wind, "We'll survey our options once we get there. We don't know just how strong Shen is."

"How could one peacock take over an entire city in one night?" Viper murmured, sliding alongside mantis.

Tigress didn't reply.

...


	3. Chapter 3

_So I told myself I would stop updating so quickly, but I have limited free time. I had fun with this chapter._

 _Thanks for the review, patient935, for the review. Glad its interesting._ _Thanks, guest who commented, Shen is one of my faves too. Shifu, too. And Po._

* * *

Chapter 3

Bad News

"Lord Shen...won't they notice all of the wolves guarding the city?"

The Boss Wolf watched as the older peacock's eyes narrowed and the content look on his face faltered. "Hmm." He sent him a sharp look, but said nothing just yet. The Wolf Boss glanced to the left quickly; he knew that pointing out a flaw in his employer's plan wasn't the best idea, even if it was an honest truth. But this time he'd felt the need to speak up. "Just a thought, sir."

"We shall send scouts ahead to anticipate them coming." The peacock placed his wingers in either sleeve, "You will order the wolves to clear a path; keep out of sight. Make sure nothing throws them off."

"Yessir. Can we expect...bodyguards?" He quirked a brow over his still working eye. Lord Shen gave a huff of laughter that didn't quite make it out of his throat.

"Perhaps, but they'll probably have hired the lowest they can get. They aren't exactly rolling in money anymore."

...

"So we just sit here."

"We have no choice."

Croc didn't particularly feel like moving his boy, actually. For decades he'd been moving, swimming, running. When he wasn't on a mission, he was asleep, eating, training, or in a meeting. Gongmen was a mighty city; very old, very industrial and vast. It was an honour to steward it. He hadn't considered himself a ruler, but then again, at the beginning he hadn't considered himself a hero. A sharp pang ran up his chest and he exhaled through his long snout. "...Rhino wouldn't be sitting here."

"He would, because if we stand up against Shen, the people will suffer. We do this for them." Ox was slowly pacing around the cell. Croc, on the top bunk, flopped onto his back. His brow creased.

"How did Shen buy the loyalty of a wolf clan?" Ox frowned to himself as well.

"Probably promised them a portion of the spoils when he conquers China." His voice was vacant. The two exchanged and uneasy glance. Did the two of them really believe, without a doubt, that that would happen?

There was a bark of laughter and the two Masters turned their heads. Nearby, two wolf guards were lounging on the overhang, legs dangling, tongues slightly out. Ox sniffed the air; the faintest draft of alcohol met his nostrils. His mind sparked despite the sting of defeat.

"And I suppose you know more than we do." Croc gave a half-grin despite himself. He knew what his old friend was plotting.

"More than you." One of the guards hiccupped, leaning back on buff arms. "Lord Shen gave us a good faith payment. Our goals...met up."

"So what happened? Ox questioned, "Whatever Shen offered, he probably won't give it to you in the end."

"Oh, he will. He really wanted to take down those stuffy kooks." Ox and Croc once again passed a look at each other. Croc spoke next, casually placing scaled arms behind his head.

"What kooks?"

"Anyone we know?"

A howl slid through the air; drifting along it like a flute, not cutting it like a knife. Ox's furrowed brow deepened, if possible, as the two wolves gave a start and stumbled out of sight. Croc folded his arms. "Hmph, thought we were getting somewhere."

"Enemy of my enemy is my friend. Stuffy kooks...I wonder..." Ox was staring at the floor, deep in thought. Croc raised his head a little, perplexed.

"Who are you thinking of, Ox?"

"...Nevermind. We're beyond helping them." The Ox sat down without another word.

...

The carriage would have been much finer had they made this journey more than a decade ago, Lord Zhou thought to himself dismally. It was probably the plainest carriage possible for a Noble House; a simple white fabric housing them inside. At least it was elongated; he glanced back at his thick tail with a grimace. It was pretty cramped, however. He supposed it was...better cover. The wagon was being towed by various boars; a fawn-red dog taking the lead and carrying a lance. Beside Zhou was his sister, applying a blue shadow to her eyelids. She looked the most irritable. "We won't exactly be making a good impression."

"We have no choice, unless you'd like to get out and walk, Dear Sister." He returned loftily. He watched in annoyance as she lined her eye with black paint. He hadn't thought it possible for her to make her eyes look even sharper; the black and blue popped out on her green and brown feathers. It made her face look even more ready to cut someone.

The wagon gave a tug and she swayed; smudging one end of the eye paint. She growled loudly and her brother ducked; his wing over his beak as he forced down a laugh. She tossed the brush at him,

"Like _you_ look any better, you has- been!"

The wagon gave another jiggle. Zhou grumbled under his breath. Behind the irritable peahen, to the side of his long train, sat a small silent figure in a plain hooded robe. Her wings sat before her; finger-like feathers softly twiddling together. A grey beak poked from underneath the bent hood, still and quiet. Qiánxíng regarded her out of the corner of her eye with a frown; Zhou, too.

"...Perhaps this was a mistake." Zhou murmured half-heartedly. "Perhaps we're rushing."

Qiánxíng elbowed him with her wing sharply in his side. He doubled over with a gasp. "Your lack of confidence is what's kept our family in the dirt for the past decade!"

"Keep your voice down." He growled, huffing. Qiánxíng rolled her eyes theatrically.

"We _are_ being cautious. Just keep your head up and we'll survive the indignity..."

"Oh really?"

"Well, I will." She smirked and re-applied the black paint around her sharp eyes. Behind her, the rather small figure gave a sigh. Zhou eyed her silently, his head still facing forward. He hoped his judgement wasn't faltering under desperation, but what choice did they have at this point?

...

Gongmen City was a breathtaking sight, even for the Dragon Warrior. As they drew near, Tigress found herself staring more than she wanted to at the hundreds of closely yet elaborately arranged buildings and towers; bridges passing over a river that looped in and out of the city like thread. The sun, though it was late into the afternoon, was up. Gongmen looked especially magnificent in the middle of the year. But Tigress knew, as they drew close to the outskirts of the city, that the nice weather wouldn't be complimenting the actual day.

They scaled the outer buildings, peering over the shingled roof. The palace, a tall tower hovering tall over the city, sat on the other side. Unless you took a boat (suicide at this point) the only way to it was through the city.

"You have to give the architectures credit." Mantis remarked in an off-hand manner, "They knew what they were going."

"We need to get to that tower without being spotted." Tigress cut in. Viper lifted her head. There were wolves everywhere, swarming the place like flies to a carcass, nudging and pushing the small pigs and rabbits shivering on the streets.

"How are there so many? Do we know this clan?" Viper murmured. Crane looked to the left, regarding a wolf shaking some coins out of a pig by shaking him upside down.

"Looks like they're just thugs for hire."

"That many, though?" Monkey rubbed his head. Tigress said nothing and tried instead to think. A tiger, snake, monkey, a crane – they'd be sticking out like a stain on white clothing. Mantis was the only one who could get away with just waltzing through. Maybe they could wait for nightfall. No – they'd wasted too much time already.

"Guys, guys, look!" Mantis hissed. All five of the masters ducked down lower, eyes barely skimming over the rooftop, as an especially roughed wolf sprung into view, barking commands at the others. Instantly the gathered canines began nudging the city goes out of the road; some of them ducking out of sight.

"...They're clearing the place."

"How can they know we're here?" Tigress nearly hissed. She was ready to give the order to move, but then the commanding wolf – which had one eye that was permanently closed (damaged?) – pointed down the road; not at them, but at the arch opening leading out of the city. Tigress frowned, "Crane...fly back in that direction, high. See what they're waiting for."

"On it." The lean avian swooped backwards, moving along the ground, stomach barely above the earth, until he was far back enough to avoid the city goers and the wolves seeing him. Then, he flipped upwards and followed the road.

...

The hooded figure peered out the carriage window; lifting the fabric sheet covering it with a subtle wing. She gazed up at the sky, the late afternoon breeze rolling in. Unusually chilly. She did not notice, for in the mountains it was always damp and cold. The sky was tinted purple as the sunset dared to begin. Against the sky she saw a shape moving, black and elegant. Her eyes widened as it passed nearer the carriage.

She took her hand away and let the curtain fall before Zhou and Qiánxíng could see her peeking out.

..

Crane landed with a soft and sharp swoop. "There's someone coming, guarded in a carriage – that must be who they're clearing the roads for."

"How many?" Tigress asked at once, mind working fast.

"Five boar guards, some canine smaller than the wolves, a deer at the back. Probably a servant...?" Crane couldn't quite tell, "They don't look that dangerous."

"Did ya see who was inside?" Mantis was standing on his hat.

"No, they're wrapped up tight. Looks like they've got a free pass into the palace." He nodded forward. Tigress turned and her eyes followed the bare road. It lead all the way through town...to the Palace.

"...I have a plan."

...

The carriage finally rolled into town. The streets in its view were all but bare at this point. The Boss Wolf watched from the shadowy rooftops, hand upon the wall, single eye glowering down at it. The boars surrounding the carriage looked indifferent, marching along. The dog at the front, glad in dark, wine-red uniform similar to a wushu suit was looking around suspiciously, though their face was masked with cloth. At the back a deer was huddled, clinging to the carriage. He looked beyond terrified.

With a smirk he turned and began making his way back to the palace, slipping through the rooftops. As the carriage passed over a bridge, Viper slid from underneath, slipping into the shadow of the undercarriage and curling around the wood, latching onto the bottom. The carriage moved past a pile of baskets; Tigress and rolled from side of the street to join her. At that a same moment, ahead of the moving cart, a pile of fruit tipped over. That split second was their cover; the boars all looked ahead with a blink, missing them. The canine taking the lead waved an arm to direct the party past the pile of rolling fruit; kicking one as they went. The fruit bounced off the wall and rolled towards the boar. Mantis, hiding upon the green apple, hopped onto the boar's knee armour, unseen.

Monkey was hopping through the rooftops, torso low, legs and arms moving him along like some kind of furry spider. He saw Mantis wave a leg at him.

He dove down into a barrel right beside the carriage's path. As it drew closer, he drew in a breath. The barrel's side scraped against the wheel, and his eyes bulged as it tipped over and began rolling away. Under the cart, hands and legs stretched and locked to keep her there, Tigress had a hard time resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

The canine up front, perhaps just a common dog, turned their masked head to watch the barrel go. Tigress's eyes widened by a twitch as she watched their feet halt. The carriage stopped with them. She and Viper exchanged a look. Mantis held his breath. The dog slammed a leg up on the barrel, stopping its rolling. With a rough hand they seized it and pulled it upright, raising their lance to stab whatever was inside –

Nothing. The dog remained still, quiet. Then they tipped the barrel away and waved an arm. The party moved again. Tigress exhaled slowly.

Monkey had his back flattened to a pillar nearby; arms tight by his sides. He peered around, watching the carriage move out of sight. He nibbled on his lip. Well, since when did things go exactly according to plan?

He saw the dog moving their head left, right, left right, clearly they weren't feeling easy. The boars, who had been obliviously moving along, seemed to me clutching their swords and clubs a little tighter. And he could hear the deer's teeth nibbling frantically on its hooves from here. He climbed up the pillar, back onto the rooftops. He'd just have to follow. He glanced upward and gave a toothed grin up at the sky, were he could see Crane moving. A blur. Alone, he wasn't a threat.

The sky was turning red. The sun was going down.

The carriage moved closer and closer to the Palace, and the silence as heavy as molten gold weighed down on the little party trekking through the jungle of buildings. Qiánxíng lifted the curtain over the carriage window this time, narrowed eyes scaling the roads. "...Zhou." Her voice wasn't a whisper but it was so very far from loud. Zhou peered over her lean shoulder. He inhaled through his nose slowly.

"...Stay calm."

" _Something's_ wrong."

The smaller peahen behind her raised her hooded head. Qiánxíng didn't notice; "What is Teegan doing, letting us get this far in without warning us?"

"No going back now. Keep calm." Zhou hissed again. At the head of the party, the dog came to a halt. The palace gate was tall, and in the dying sunlight it cast shadows that nipped at their toes. They turned their head back to the boars and nodded stiffly.

The gates began to open with a loud shift. Zhou and Qiánxíng exchanged a look inside. Below, huddled under the carriage, Tigress scowled. It moved into the courtyard. It was fast, broad, and built of clear grey stone that was sharp against the redness of the sky. The colours made her heart beat, ready for fighting. Raw colours that meant no good. It was finally there, outside the tower, that the carriage came to a final halt and the door slid open. Viper and Tigress turned their heads quickly as they saw a brown, thin leg reach out and a sharp foot land on the ground. Another joined it, then another pair. Then Tigress saw a trail of blue and green slid out like a gown. A train. Another peacock.

She kept as still as stone. There were two peafowl, one male, and one female, clearly related. The male colourful, but typical looking. The female green at the head but brown at the wings and lower neck. Unremarkable clothing that was just a few stages higher than commoner robes. Not that powerful, but more than the people in the city.

Mantis had abandoned the leg of the boar and had scuttled under to meet them. Those boars were surrounding the two peafowl now, the dog at their side.

Then, another pair of feet, similarly shaped but far smaller, stepped out of the carriage and padded along. The two adult peafowl eyed a little hooded peahen scuttling towards them, head bent. "Not a word." The male said stonily. The female gave a smirk that made Tigress's temper flair beneath her stillness.

The party began moving slowly and quietly towards the palace, backs to them. Tigress couldn't see their faces, but she knew they were anxious. Out of earshot at last, Viper whispered,

" _What_ is going on? Who _are_ they?"

"Some kind of nobility...or former nobility." Tigress muttered. "I don't like this."

"Neither do they, by the looks of it." Mantis commented, "Where are Crane and Monkey...?"

"They'll catch up. The plan was to get inside, and we will. We need to see what Shen wants with these people before we blow our cover." Tigress said. This could be bigger than some weapon. This wasn't some thug taking over a village.

She saw the dog that had been leading the group, lance in hand, turned and stare around the courtyard. Tigress, Viper and Mantis went completely still. Tigress felt something in her gut. Defensive. This person, she would keep an eye on. This dog, we would fight eventually. She was sure of it. This was a warrior, gripping the lance tight in their paw. But crude, her teachings said. Something about their stance was off.

Silent, the canine turned their back and moved after the party.


	4. Chapter 4

_Wolf Boss wasn't going to be as major in this, but It kinda happened. This chapter is also a page too long but oh well, thanks for all of the reviews :)_

* * *

Chapter Four

Sprung

...

When the younger Peahen had awakened that morning, she hadn't been expecting _this_.

Gongmen was quieter than she thought it would be, and the _colours._ They weren't dull and overly designed like her relative's dwellings, it was bright and the patterns were just enough.

But being bundled up like a dumpling, shoved into the back of a cart and driven out here with the order to keep her beak shut kind of took the excitement away.

They could have at least told her; maybe she wouldn't feel so uneasy. It was so _quiet_. She hated everyone looking at her; even with the hood. Usually she was someplace hidden, away, but here she knew the boars were staring at her, guards, too. Their stares burned through the fabric hiding her face, and the burn went right through her cheeks into her throat.

The palace should have made her feel excited. Staring up at it now, in the red evening, however, she could barely stop herself shivering. The light was dimmer now; she could only see the shape of it. It looked jagged and dark, and loomed over her in a way that just didn't feel right. She swallowed, breathing in to compose herself, and followed Zhou and Qiánxíng without a word.

She heard them mumbling fretfully and her stomach churned.

She looked past them at the back of Teegan, the dog's covered head, but she didn't look back at her. She wanted desperately to ask her what was going on, but it was so quiet...talking felt like a death sentence.

So she followed, her heart sinking with every step, trying to keep her mind blank. Trying not to think.

...

"We'll never get in without blowing out cover if we don't go _now_." Viper hissed. Tigress could see the heavy doors were beginning to open to allow the peafowl inside. She gritted her teeth and scanned the skyline for Crane. She could see him, far above.

But _where_ was monkey?

A golden-furred ball rolled under the carriage. Tigress's claws nearly flew out; only for Monkey's hooting chuckle to greet her. She exhaled, "Monkey –"

"Look what I found." The monkey, awkwardly sitting up as best he could under the cart, held out what looked like...

"Clothes?"

"We've followed them this far." Mantis shrugged towards the back of the party moving inside the palace. Tigress' brow creased. Disguises? A little amateur and comical, but what choice did they have? She lifted a paw and broke off the bottom of the carriage. "All right."

...

The deer guard standing around the courtyard blinked upon seeing the door to the carriage slide open one more, and various forms appear from within. Most of them quite large. How had they _fit?_

A bird swooped in to join them as they marched across the courtyard, dressed similarly to the board guards surrounding the peafowl before. The guards exchanged uneasy glances, but did nothing.

...

The lean canine at the front of the Lord's party once again came to a stop; the boars surrounding the peafowl like flies to honey skidding to a stop with them. A tower of stairs lay ahead; several servants were scuttling forward. The heaviness in the air had grown with the darkness in the sky; sunset had come and night was fast approaching. Huddled behind her two older relatives and the boar guards, the smaller peahen was barely visible. The servants bowed graciously and invited the group upstairs to meet the Masters – without meeting their eye.

Qiánxíng eyed her brother out of the corner of her eye sharply. "We should just go back."

"It's far too late." Zhou muttered back as they began moving towards the stairs; as slowly as possible. "We have protection."

"We should have brought more guards with us." Qiánxíng muttered, "We look like a joke."

The doors behind them clunked shut, only to open again. The coaxed creek made the peafowl turn their heads and look behind them with a blink. An assortment of different animals glad in plain, dark armour and gear, marched stiffly forward. Zhou's long brows arched. Those uniforms looked almost like –

"Who -?" A antlered palace guard began, only to be cut off. A feline, tall, sturdy and taking up the lead spoke over him,

"We are the Lord and Lady's secondary security. The family felt it needed." She brushed past him without even giving him a glance. Zhou's brain bolted, as did Qiánxíng's. The group – his eyes flew over them – a monkey, a snake, a bird and a tiger– were standing around them instantly. Before their boar guards could react.

"We're here to help." The tiger said sharply to him. Zhou stared back at her. Clearly the palace guards hadn't heard her. What this a trick? Where these mercenaries looking for an extra coin? This group, however, struck him as familiar in a way he couldn't quite pinpoint.

"...I see..."

"Lord Zhou, do you know this -?"

"Yes, yes. I had them follow from behind to keep an eye out for bandits that may be following." He sent the tiger's hard face a look at that, "They are with us."

The antlered guards looked hesitant. Teegan the dog, up front, was glaring at the tiger with so much venom it burned through their cloth mask. Zhou gave a stiff nod and the part advanced towards the stairs; the newest members of the group mingling in with the boars. Qiánxíng stiffened when something hopped onto her shoulder. Her face blanched and she raised a wing to swat it –

"Hey, hey, hey, here to help, remember?" A hushed voice shot up at her. A mantis, wrapped up like a mummy, was perched on her shoulder. Qiánxíng sneered at him foully.

"Who are you lot, really? Why help us?" She sneered as quietly as possible. The sound of the group's footsteps was the only thing other than that, and the beat of them did nothing to ease the tension. The Mantis leaned in; a pincer to his mouth,

"Fearsome Five. We're here to help you." The peahen's sharp face softened in surprise. The little living leaf had been so quiet she was sure even Zhou hadn't heard it.

"...Right." She turned to face forward, "Be sure that you do."

Mantis stared.

His senses pricked. He looked behind him, and he saw, in the shadowy cover of the hood, the smaller peahen was staring at him, half-gaping, eyes wide. "..."

He shrugged a little, feeling a bit awkward, and hopped off her relative's shoulder and back to the ground, avoiding being stood on by the boars with a whip of his feet.

...

The climb up the stairs was more intense than Tigress could have imagined. She kept glancing back at the three peafowl as discreetly as she could manage; taking in every detail and trying to figure out their purpose without diving into conversation. This wasn't the time to talk, and questioning them would put Shen on alert as well as the dog up front. She was sure the canine was glaring back at her now and again, too.

The smallest peahen she could barely get a glimpse of; small, scrawny, perhaps not as young as she seemed. The hood hid her face. She was dressed far plainer than the other two, and it sparked Tigress' interest. Just who was she, if not a relative? What was the purpose of bringing someone who was barely out of childhood here?

The reached mid-way up the palace. Tigress' defences leaped up. Two apes, hulking and armoured, stood on either side of the next staircase, eyeing them without much courteously. Tigress noticed then that the antlered guards had shuffled back. They'd been surrounding them in a tight-knit circle before, now they were handing them over to larger guards? Shen wasn't sparing any expense.

Monkey, who was tiny compared to them, leaned from the back of the assembly to eye them almost challengingly. They regarded with wrinkled noses. The smaller primate waved sly, grinning, and they scowled.

The two formidable creatures made the Lord and Lady glance at each other uncomfortably. Tigress caught the smaller peahen peering around them at the apes in wonder. The canine, whose name she had yet to hear, stopped in front of the gorillas stiffly.

"We are here to see the Master of Gongmen City." Tigress' ear twitched. Female. Not feminine, but female. One of the gorillas nodded stiffly,

"We shall escort you..." Tigress saw the ghost of a smirk cross over his mug. She glanced behind her and gave a swift nod to the rest of the five. Then she speeded up, coming side to side in her pace with the canine as they scaled the last steps, gorillas behind them. Now she saw a pair of oval orange eyes glaring at her, and she frowned back. The two ventured stiffly up, taking the lead.

"For now we're on the same side." Tigress said lowly.

"For now." The mow voice of the canine replied. "I'm watching you, cat."

Tigress nodded once.

"This isn't the time for bickering." Zhou called. Qiánxíng nudged him,

"Do shut up." She hissed.

"Qiánxíng, now is not the time..."

...

The doors of the balcony where open, basking the throne room in a reddened light. The colours of the world seemed to drain with it. Shen moved past the light cast by the open door, lance in hand, slowly spinning the gleaming silver. His poise was rigid. He twirled the blade and slid forward, making a sweeping manoeuvre along the floor; fan tail whipping through the air as he tossed the blade up and caught it.

"You are nervous." He stiffened, halfway through stabbing an invisible enemy. He straightened up with a scowl, masking his how he'd been thrown off.

"I am not _nervous._ They are coming to me on a _platter_ – it was ridiculously easy."

"You really think you'll be able to do it, don't you?" The Soothsayer commented with his blade still hovering inches from her face. Shen struck his blade down on the floor like a staff.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He retorted, turning away. He had no time to mull over such sentiments. Commoners had a blessing when it came to relatives; if you didn't have much of an estate they had less of a chance of stabbing you in the back. Royalty was an altogether new situation; his parents didn't have him for the sake of having a child, they needed an heir. He didn't.

"I will not have some illegitimate waifs taking what's mine." He elaborated, pacing slowly across the throne room, "This is the how the world works among _rulers_. They are of no use to me."

"You say that now." Soothsayer said quietly, "But one meets his destiny on the road he takes to fulfil it, Shen. The prophecy has and will always be about what _could_ happen."

"I shall tell you what _will_ happen, Soothsayer." Shen's face was dark in the dimly lit chamber, his eyes bright and red like the sky outside. His voice was dangerously quiet. "I will dispose of them and continue my plan. It'll be over this _very day."_

The old goat slowly shook her head. "You bring whatever comes on yourself, Shen." She murmured sadly. "You could have prevented this hatred within those close to you."

A shallow laugh. "Those closest to me loathed me, Soothsayer. It seems it'll run in the family."

 _Crunch._

"You – you – I told you stop STOP that, you creepy old thing!"

...

"I thought I heard someone yelling." Zhou commented as they scaled the last staircase. It wasn't a short walk. Qiánxíng cocked a brow,

"Wonderful, we're walking right into an argument. This day is a _peach_."

Taagen drew a long breath in through her nose. Tigress glanced at her, "What is it?" She murmured. The canine's brow furrowed beneath the cloth mask. "Something smells off. It's like...smoke. I can't make it out."

"All right, you two." Zhou was striding further now, coming between the two female warriors and taking the lead. "Follow my actions and keep your eyes forward. We don't know what's in store." Tigress' nose wrinkled slightly and the two followed, the rest of the party after them.

They stepped into the tallest chamber, and Tigress' eyes flickered around instantly. The floor was marble black and decorated with constellation signs; each pillar unique in detail and forest-like around the room. In the centre above disc-like stairs lay a place she assumed the throne should be; only it was covered in a...sheet. She frowned.

Zhou and Qiánxíng came to a halt; standing before the apparently covered throne. They stared about, their neutral masks fading. Clearly they were anxious, too anxious to hide it now. The girl they brought with them remained huddled back amidst the bodyguards. With a sweep of her wing she drew back her hood, and Tigress looked over her shoulder.

Scrawny had been a good guess. She wasn't pretty, but not ugly; perhaps around the age of fourteen or fifteen. Feathers that were perhaps originally a peach colour had been... _dyed_ with markings that may have held some meaningful shape ones, but now looked like smudged red-brown chalk upon her plumage. A pair of red-brown eyes stared around the room, wide-eyed and shivery; a rather limp red crest hanging at the back of her head. A grey beak, so different from her relative's brown, was tightly shut.

Tigress raised a brow at the scruffy looking girl before something caught her attention. A sound. The two peafowl in front stared around in alarm, struck silent. Viper raised her head; Monkey stopped glaring at the large apes, Crane went still as he listened with every fibre of his being. A soft, metallic clink. Getting closer.

Zhou's frown barely stirred his anxious face. "What –"

A white, sleek form appeared from behind the cloth-covered throne. A peacock, glad in pure silver and dotted with red slunk into view, eyes boring down at them and a calm, callous smile upon his beak. _"Good Evening."_

"Lord Shen...?"

Zhou and Qiánxíng's faces paled in horror, but in that split second it was too late. The two turned but the gorillas stomped in front of the stairs with a grunt; from above black shapes swooped down and landed all around the party. Tigress threw up her arms and took her stance; the Five following suit. Viper whipped out, tripping some of the wolves that had descended; Monkey leaped onto the heads of the gorillas and began kicking at them. Mantis and Crane dodged a shower of blades tossed by a group to their left. Before Tigress and Teegan, the Wolf Boss Landed in a crouch. He stood in a swift motion and with a gruff laugh he lashed out. Tigress countered, striking his side. Teegan ducked back and tried to hit the wolf from behind. He dodged Tigress' next swipe and dove at the other canine with a snarl; fist just missing her face.

Tigress readied herself for another attack when a slicing noise slid through the air. She froze. All around, blades were pointing at her. At the rest of the five, at the boar guards who had been beaten down by the wolves instantly. There were dozens, in this cramped space – too many.

Julan reeled back, trapped in the cluster, a single gasp escaping her throat. Teegan spun at hearing it, distracted for a second –

The Wolf Boss lunged at her and with a swift kick, anchored her shoulder to the floor with his foot.

She glared heatedly, silent. He snickered down at her in return.

Zhou and Qiánxíng stepped back, though there was nowhere to run. Shen slunk down each step, though did not come down enough to be at level. The sheet was gone, and standing in the place of the throne was a bulky metal contraption they couldn't describe.

"Killing two birds with one stone." Shen chuckled delightfully, eyes narrowing, "In more ways than one."

...

It had been easy. And perfect. Every moment was just as he'd imagined it; from their last ditch attempt to fight, to the looks of utter terror upon the last of House Guo's faces. They'd been exactly as he'd envisioned. Their band was far less impressive than he'd imagined, as was their attire. They'd pass as wealthy merchants, but as a Lord and Lady? Please. "I have to say, I expected a bit more of a struggle. Though I'm not too disappointed."

"What have you done?" Lord Zhou hissed, feathered hands curling. Shen had to laugh at such a facade.

"Gongmen is mine again, as it should be." He replied, eyes focusing on him, then his sister. She sneered up at him, but her fear – like her brother's – seeped through like wine on white fabric. "And you both walked so willingly into my trap, I almost feel flattered."

"Don't be." The peahen shot up at him. Shen felt his smile faltered.

" _Do_ watch your tongue."

His eyes flickered behind them. Staring at him was a smaller, scrawny peahen dressed like a guttersnipe rather than a lady's daughter. Muddled looking colouring, her soft face lined in horror, eyes far too wide for her little head. She was staring at him as if looking at a ghost.

"Ah, there you are, _Child."_ This little waif, his blood? He wasn't regretful not to know her name. He couldn't keep the smirk off his face, it was absurd. He glanced sideways, "You honestly think _this_ is the one destined to defeat me?"

"I do not."

All heads turned. Julan raised her head, her blank mind finally turning its clogs as she registered what she was looking at. An old goat, with horns that looked too heavy for her head...smiling at her as if she'd always _known_ her.

...and a beard?

"I _know_ she is."

* * *

 _I wanted to keep the focus around the people surrounding Shen's children rather than the kids themselves at first. I kinda liked that idea. But now I think I need to begin edging into the mindset of Julan, a character I made years back but have changed a little here. Please review :)_

 _Zhou and his 'go with it attitude' are beginning to make him grow on me o.o I was supposed to be making a selfish lord who couldn't fight and now he's like, this awkward fool ..._


	5. Chapter 5

_I need to stop uploading chapters so quickly. I'm kinda winging it; I have the story worked out but gaps in certain bits, this is one of them._

* * *

Chapter 5

You or Me

Anyone anywhere could probably admit to knowing someone but not really believing them to exist. That is, you know they exist, but they are so far away, or have been dead for so long, that it doesn't really occur to you that they're a part of your life, or that they were really individuals like yourself rather than a figure people spoke about. Like a story character or a legend, the feelings didn't go deep. So when you did meet one of these people you thought you'd never meet, never see, only remotely hear of, something very, very subtle shifts in your world. Barely noticeable, yet like a stack of golden dominos they slowly flipped across your brain until suddenly you feel like you're an entirely new person standing in an entirely new place.

One that is never too welcoming. The first few moments of being in the throne room had passed so quickly. They'd walked in; chaos erupted, and then was quenched like a candle between a thumb and forefinger. Blades everywhere. Julan, as always, felt her mind go horribly blank as she stared at the back of her relatives' heads. It was eerie, seeing them so frightened. Everything about this situation was _off._

 _And then there's him._

"Ah, there you are, _Child."_

Every time he took a step, a slicing sound sang from his talons. She had to fight the instinct to flinch and drew back the best she could; feeling a horrible prod at her back. One of the blades. They way he was bending, as if addressing a very small child rather than one into their teens, and the softness carrying such poison – it was the kind of voice that made your skin crawl. Julan glanced away from him, focusing her gaze on their canine protector, Teegan – who was trapped under the foot of the leading Wolf.

Anything but looking at this nightmarish peacock. She heard him give a hollow cackle,

"Do you honestly believe _this_ is the one destined to defeat me?" Julan risked a look, confusion riddling her brain. What?

"I do not." An old goat had appeared. All of the terrified captives blinked in alarm at this sudden appearance. "I know she is."

Know...?

For the first time she got here, Julan opened her beak. Her voice was barely louder than a mumble, "What do you -?"

"What is this?!" Qiánxíng hissed, her beak barely open from rage muddled with fading fear. Zhou was still gaping slightly, looking for beyond foolish. Julan noticed then that Lord Shen's narrowed gaze was locked on her, and she stared back – before losing her nerve and looking back at Teegan again, trying to catch the half-strangled dog's eye.

She heard the white peacock chuckle again.

Be it at her or her Qiánxíng she had no idea. Said older peahen pointed a feather right up at the Lord's face; it contorted into even further annoyance. "You're supposed to be dead or in some gutter somewhere! Who let you back into -?"

"Oh, the Master's Council. I'm afraid you haven't heard the news." This time his demented smile didn't reach his eyes. Julan peered around her relative's back to watch him, heart drumming inside her meek body. Lord Shen slowly paced to the side, talons slinking with each causal step,

"I returned and they handed over the city to me most willingly. Once they witnessed what my invention could do." A wing lifted towards the contraption in the centre of the room. Finally, Zhou spoke, his voice hollow,

"...What have you done?"

Lord Shen's gaze fell on him and his eyes widened along with his smirk. "Demonstrated on Master Rhino."

Qiánxíng's glare faltered. A growl tore through the air, low, rumbling, angry. Julan turned her head in fright. The tiger that had joined them, now in cuffs and hunched as if old, was snarling up at the peacock with unhidden venom. Suddenly one of the wolves moved forward and snatched the covering from her face. Julan stared.

"The Dragon Warrior?" One of the wolves barked in alarm. Teegan the dog twisted in the grip of the Leading Wolf. He slammed down his foot with a grunt to keep her in place. She gave a growl but ignored him, her gaze burning right through the Tiger's forehead.

"Ah, yes, the ruffians from the little hollow called 'The Valley of Peace'" Lord Shen recited the words like he was speaking of a circus rather than a sacred valley. He shook his head, grey eyelids slipping closed, "Oh, this is all too much."

"This is an outrage, Shen." Zhou cut through his amusement, his voice hollow with horror still, "Let us leave at once!"

Shen's eyes opened once again and he frowned at the other peacock thickly. "Oh, I shall."

 _Slink._

He began towards them, down the steps. Qiánxíng, for all her talk, blanched again beneath her feathers and drew back. Julan's stomach flipped in fright and she huddled behind her, eyes near popping. Zhou raised a wing, staying in place, but leaning back as if the white peacock was contagious.

"See here- there's no need for violence, Shen. The past –"

"Is in the past. Like the dead." Shen replied callously, smile fixed in place yet as he stood, level, eye to eye, with the other Lord. Behind Zhou, Qiánxíng and Julan stared in silent unease. "And that is just what I plan for you and the...girl."

Julan felt a sting she couldn't quite describe. Not fear, not annoyance, not even unease. The word itself wasn't a problem, it was the way he said it, the way his gaze focused on her in an almost accusing way.

Then, his sickly smile faltered. His eyes peered around the group in scrutiny. "...Where is the other?"

"What?"

"I was told there were _two."_ This time he glared at the old goat nearby. Julan peered around at her, beyond bewildered. Two?

For some reason, a thought jumped into her head, and the words flew from her mouth. "I don't have any siblings." She mumbled. The white peacock's gaze focused on her and she flinched, finding it increasingly difficult to look back at him.

"..." His scowl sank deeper into his face, "Don't try to deceive me, I know there is. Rather clever, considering how easily you walked into this trap." He cast his gaze back to Zhou at that.

The more colourful peacock scowled, "We aren't sure what you mean."

Shen's calm, collected poise morphed. " _Where is the other?!"_

His voice was like a knife and the other peafowl ducked slightly in response.

"Why are they _here_ , Lord Shen?" The Tigress snapped. The peacock in question raised a brow her way, and her paused.

He smiled and they were all sure the air in the room dropped a few degrees. "To die."

"Why?" Julan's voice, finally loud enough to cut through, jumped out of her throat. All heads turned. The scrawny peahen flinched a little, but kept her gaze locked on the white peacock opposite her. "What...what is all of this?"

Shen chuckled. It sent her skin on another round of crawling. "Aren't you aware?"

"Lord Shen." Zhou began quickly, "There's no need –"

"The only reason you're still alive is that I find your boldness mildly amusing." Shen snapped at the other Lord. Zhou blinked,

"Beg your pardon?"

Viper slithered closer to the cuffs the wolves had slapped on Tigress.

"You brought this little waif here in hopes of gaining some of my parents' fortune, did you not?" Shen didn't look amused now. He looked callous, cold. Julan's eyes flickered to Qiánxíng, then to the Five, then to the old Goat lady who was smiling at her. She stared back, confused. She sent the old woman a shrug, as if hoping she'd somehow explain.

"...?"

 _Clink._

Lord Shen had taken another step, directly in front of Zhou. The other peacock, slightly shorter, leaned back. "...It isn't – this was irregular. It doesn't have to be like this."

SLICE.

All parties jumped as a feather-like blade hovered a centimetre away from Lord Zhou's wide eyes.

"Do shut up, and _stand aside_."

Julan's feathers bristled in alarm. Qiánxíng, of all people, moved forward. Her wings went up and she _shoved_ Lord Shen back. He stumbled, off balance and off guard, his elegancy all but disrupted.

Viper paused in her lock-picking. Monkey bit down hard on his lip to keep his whoop of laughter in. Shen regained his balance, flabbergasted. "How _dare_ you, you fowl woman -!"

"Do what your tongue." Qiánxíng parroted back to him with a sickly sweet smile.

Keep talking, Viper thought, as she continued on the lock. Any moment now. Keep distracting. Shen stared at the two peafowl standing in his way.

A slice.

Zhou doubled over. Qiánxíng gaped. He was kicked aside and there was a twirl of a silvery blade. Julan lifted her head and gasped as a lance appeared directly beside her face; just brushing the scraggly feathers of her cheek. A pair of red eyes met red again, and Shen's narrowed as he lifted the blade -

The canine warrior bit down hard on the Wolf Boss's leg. He howled in pain and leaped back. Tigress felt the bonds tying her hands behind her back loosen. She cast a look over her shoulder. Viper had picked the lock. Teeth barring, she tossed the heavy cuffs at the nearest wolf. The rest of the five vaulted; tossing off their cuffs, following her lead. The wolves surrounding the peafowl were struck by each one and they collided into each other. The feathered three ducked and bolted to the five, eyes wide. Julan stumbled, looking over her shoulder as Shen's smirk vanished, replaced by a furious scowl,

"Get them!"

Teegan leaped up and tackled the Wolf Boss; slamming her elbow down on his head, her other paw going for his good eye. The Wolf Boss snarled and slammed his back against the pillar, trying to toss her off. Tigress went for Shen; claws out, teeth barred as she took a swipe. His lance whipped out and intercepted her claws; his fan-like tail whipped up and blocked her path.

Julan ducked under the blades and swinging arms, trying to avoid each deathly blade and strike of death, when she slammed right smack into one of the giant apes.

It grunted. She gave a sheepish, horrified grin and leaped back with a yelp when it slammed its fist down on the spot she'd been moments before.

"Get Lord Zhou!" Tigress called over the chaos. Viper shot forward and whipped the legs of three wolves out from under them; the apes couldn't move through their comrades to get to their enemies quick enough. Shen slipped under Tigress' arm and she felt a clawed talon fall onto her foot. She snarled, turned, but her eyes were assaulted by another flash of red and white. Her temper flaring, the tiger kicked out her free leg. The peacock slid backwards, releasing her other foot but putting enough distance between them for her kick to miss.

Monkey jumped, kicking out both legs to hit another two wolves, clearing the way to Zhou and Qiánxíng. She was tugging her brother up just as Crane reached the two. He flapped his wings, sending an air current out that knocked back the approaching wolves.

"Get to the stairs!" Monkey called, downright picking up Zhou and darting for them. Qiánxíng slid after him, avoiding the elbows of the Wolf Boss and Teegan as they clawed and kicked at each other like savages. Tigress growled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl – Julan – peering at her from behind a pillar, her own eyes wide. Tigress also saw Shen, peering through the chaos, trying to find her and barking orders at his wolves that didn't help.

She wanted to continue the fight, but they couldn't – not with the peafowl here. The boar guards retreated, kicking at the remaining wolves and bonding after their masters. Tigress leaped, seized Julan under one arm and kicked one of the pillars behind her.

An ominous crack rippled through the air. Lord Shen's eyes bulged as it tipped, striking another pillar and breaking that one, too. Tigress dived down the staircase after the others.

Teegan saw her go and kicked off the Wolf Leader, sneering at him once before darting towards the staircase; sliding underneath the arms that reached to grab her and kicking another pillar down to block the wolves from following too quickly.

Shen caught his voice at last, "GET THEM! LEAVE NONE OF THEM ALIVE!"

Down in the staircases below, the Five, the boars and the masked dog were practically flying downward; Zhou and Julan being carried like sacks and Qiánxíng scuttling beside them.

There was a muffled crashing noise from above. The ceiling trembled; flakes of paint fluttered down. The group skidded to a halt, Tigress' arm raised to stop them. "..."

A crack.

Her eyes widened,

"MOVE!"

Something crashed through the roof. Blinking, spinning, spluttering. It dove into the stairs before them, drilling into the polished wood and reducing it to splinters. Tigress reeled back; the boar guards keeled over. Teegan stared over the gap it had created; the stairs all but gone.

"We jump." Tigress said bluntly. Teegan turned her masked head, scowling through at her,

"The boars won't make it!"

"You go on ahead." One of them said, though clearly, by the look on his face, his words were braver than he actually was. Teegan's frown deepened and she shot Tigress a huff look. The tiger breathed out sharply through her nose to compose herself,

"All right..." She leaped upward, and climbed. The five followed her lead like her shadows. They burst back up into the throne room, where Shen had quite clearly blasted a hole in the marble floor with the weapon. It tipped towards them as they leaped back into view.

Tigress leaped again, her claws sinking into one of the fallen pillars. She tossed it downward; Monkey and Crane leaping after it on either side and in one swift motion they rammed it in the space the stairs had left. The boars and peafowl gaped.

The wolves began pouring like cockroaches through the hole in the floor. Tigress began kicking her way through as the chase resumed; the others sprinting down the flights of stairs, Tigress, Crane and Monkey at the rear taking out as many wolves as possible.

Shen leaned over the edge, staring down at the chaos below, his eyes wide and intense. The Soothsayer, quiet as a mouse, appeared by his side.

"She has your looks." She commented rather humorously. Shen's face twisted in indignation.

"That had to have been the scruffiest child I'd ever seen."

"You were too, once."

Shen ignored her, his eyes narrowing. "They won't escape. I have various layers to my plan. The girl _won't_ be leaving this place alive, Soothsayer."

"You still won't let yourself face it, will you?"

"Face what?" His voice was a mixture of a hollow laugh and an angry snap. The Soothsayer gave him a sorrowful look.

"That is your child you almost attacked, Shen. For your sake, I'm glad you were stopped."

Shen's smile returned and he drew a laughing breath. "Blood is fickle. Power is not. You should be worried for her sake and not mine."

* * *

 _So a little more of Julan's POV here. Qiánxíng, who was meant to be loathsome, is growing on me, too. Julan's mind has gone 'whut' during this whole thing, and that's probably how I'd react._


	6. Chapter 6

_Wow, I didn't expect to get this much attention for this. So many Shen fics out there - far better ones. I was reading a few thinking 'I can't top this, but oh well'. I'm so glad for all of your support. And the constructive criticism - I'll try not to slip up with the Peacock, Peahen, Peafowl terms, and I'll try to make who's who more clear. I went back and edited the paragraphs introducing Julan to make it more obvious who the story was talking about, hope it did the trick. Thanks for the help :)_

* * *

Chapter 6

Feather and Fowl

They hit the ground with the force of a hurricane. Around the group made of a mismatch of boars, peafowl, kung fu masters and a guard, the Palace base gave an ominous shudder. Something so solid and sturdy shouldn't have sounded so rickety. Julan could see showers of splinters and broken wood raining down around them; cracks in the marble floor like shattered plates. The smell of dust that rose from the broken rock was enough to make her gag.

"To the door!" The tiger barked, and the group surged forward. Julan's mind didn't know what exactly to focus on; the fact Lord Zhou was unconscious and bleeding, that they were running for their lives, an army of wolves were after them, or that they were being led by five strangers who claimed to be the Furious Five. Oh well. She darted to the door; the boars weren't even trying to keep up the formation now. There was a desperation in the air that made her heart race; Qiánxíng knocked against her as they both moved forward. She saw an indignant look flash over her relatives face and she was shoved aside.

Her heart leaped as she stumbled back. A pair of hands seized her shoulders. Julan glanced over quickly; the monkey had stopped her fall and gave a merry salute, calm as anything. She blinked. How were they not phased at all?

A black blur landed roughly in their way, blocking the door. The wolves surrounded them like flies to meat; all around. The Wolf Boss stood before them, a lopsided grin upon his maw. The tiger woman growled, her paws curling to powerful fists. Julan's eyes widened in awe.

"Goin' somewhere?"

"Past you, ruffian." Teegan hissed, stepping to the side of the Tiger. Judging by the latter's look, the gesture wasn't appreciated. Qiánxíng's head whipped back. Julan, her chest tightening, followed her gaze. A few staircases above she saw a white form swoop down. Lord Shen stood at the tip of the broken stairway, still high above, leaning over. He carried the air of someone watching a very interesting theatre display. Julan felt a chill run up her spine.

The wolves began closing in. The ghostly peacock above gave a callous smile. And for the first time since she got here, right when the group was about to be engulfed by a sea of wolves, the gears in her brain _moved._

 _Creepy old -_

She scowled.

Tigress struck out at the first wolf that dared to attack; the boars, fear mad with fear at the sheer number of mangy foes, ran blinding at them waving their clubs. Monkey and Mantis took the left, Crane and Viper the right. The gorillas were sliding down what remained of the broken stairwells; eerily nimble for suck hulking beasts. Julan ducked, Qiánxíng with her, Zhou had been thrust between them as his previous carrier began fighting.

Teegan went for the Wolf Boss; their arms struck against each other in a mirror-like movement. She kicked, her blocked, he clawed at her; she reeled back. None landed a hit. Tigress shifted her weight onto her paws and lifted her legs, kicking one of the gorillas beneath the chin just as he landed on ground floor. He slammed loudly into a pillar behind him.

A creak of wood and cracking stone reverberated up the tower. Tigress's brow furrowed as she stared upward, listening as the sound travelled up, up, and settled. The tower remained sturdy. The battle around her had paused as both wolves and foes gawked around. Obviously, if the tower fell, they'd all be flattened no matter whose side they were on –

Julan felt something grab her wings, and hoist her into the air. A strangled cry escaped her throat and she kicked out. She hadn't been falling, what –

One of the wolves had grabbed her. His arms wrapped tight around her skinny frame, tighter, painfully – she knocked the back of her head against her shoulder but it did no good. She couldn't breathe.

Shen felt a near maddened grin stretch across his beak, gaze unblinking as he watched.

Julan saw it.

She bit down hard on the wolf's arm. A surprised yelp later and his grip loosened just a tad. Julan wriggled away and sped back across the chaos to Qiánxíng, who straightened up the moment she saw her,

"Where did you get to -?"

The tiger leaped over their heads, leg up, arms tucked, and landed a kick on the door. Teegan and the Wolf Boss paused. The male had a rather comical look of surprise on his lopsided face. "Uhhh..."

The door fell off the hinges. Again, the battle had paused. The split second it did, Julan threw a look over her shoulder and saw the pale peacock's eyes bulge in alarm and disbelief. The ends of her beak threatened to curl as she tossed a wing out,

"Let's go!"

Her voice rang out loudly, easily, for the first time. Her blood was pumping and she knew it was silly, dangerous even, but she felt as if she were playing a hectic sport and was on the winning team. And winning they were; the Viper and Crane shot out either way and struck two of the pillars by the door. They tipped like trees in the wood and landed in front of the surging horde of wolves; blocking the path. How many times would they be hoodwinked by that trick?

Julan beamed. She felt someone cuff her head.

"Stop grinning like a maniac and MOVE!" Qiánxíng snapped. Zhou was tucked again under the monkey's arm as they ran. The boars were huffing like furnaces choked up with too much smoke and too little coal, but they'd made it out of the tower. They'd made it. Julan scarcely dared to believe it.

"Just what WAS all that?" She called over the sound of thundering feet. Qiánxíng didn't look much better than the boars at this point, running-wise. The girl tried to stop her grin from widening but failed terribly.

"Lord Shen lured you here under the Master's name." The Tiger woman called back, her voice aloof. She didn't look back at the girl once. "You fell for it, I'm afraid."

"Tigress, he's not doing too good." A rather accented voice cut in. Julan glanced over at the monkey carrying her relative. Indeed, Lord Zhou looked as floppy as a discarded old carpet. Julan swallowed.

"Is he going to be all right?"

"We need to lie low; we can't leave the city until we've gathered our bearings!" The Viper called. Shouts and bark-like voices sounded behind them. The wolves were pouring out the tower like ants. Tigress' nose wrinkled in thought. More would be waiting in the city. Viper was right, they needed to hide. It wasn't something she ever liked doing, but they had no other option here. Not with the foolish lord bleeding and injured. Just what possessed them to come here, at this time? Had they really no clue of what happened to Master Rhino? As objective as she wanted to be for this mission, as she always was, she couldn't quench a spark of disdain for the family they'd saved.

They made it to the outer gate. With a swift motion, Crane sliced his talons through the stile keeping the heavy doors closed. Another kick from the tiger later and it was open.

Of course, wolves were lingering within the town. Many turned their heads at the sound of the door thundering open. Tigress surveyed the darkened town. Night. Good. But even then it would be hard to find cover quickly, what with these boars on in their group. She inhaled slowly. "The canal."

"The water?" One of the boars inquired hesitantly. Tigress moved stonily along said river. Thread-like bridges weaved in and out above the water; it was deep, too deep for them. Her eyes landed on some barrels by the waterside.

"..."

The wolves that had come to investigate the noise by the palace gate lifted their lanterns. The yellow-orange light basked the courtyard in its glow, but showed no one there. The moon was hidden by clouds tonight; the stars masked by muggy summer damp. The wolves exchanged nervous glances; how would they face their master and explain they lost the group so easily in the dark?

Meters behind them, below the bridges, the group drifted along. The boars clung to empty barrels like leeches, eyes broad. Tigress kicked through the water slowly, treading the liquid as smoothly as physically possible. All parties were silent. The water was freezing despite it being summer. The two peahens, huddled together and clinging to their own barrel, were shivering. Their male relative remained out for the count. He hadn't stirred since Shen's hit. Tigress glanced at Viper, who slid back at her silent gesture to check on him.

The snake gave a firm nod. He was alive. For now.

The group drifted, quietly, along the river, leaving the light of the wolves' lanterns behind them.

...

The Wolf Boss couldn't quite untangle his memory of what happened. One moment the chase was on, the next, the targets had been gone. It wasn't exactly a good way to start and explanation to Lord Shen. He'd enjoyed the fight, he'd admit. That was the Fearsome Five? Really? Talk about a sloppy mission. The best of the best had to break everything they touched and stumbled like rookie acrobats. He wasn't impressed. As he made his way up the many flights of stairs (and taking his sweet time) his mind fell back to the dog woman. His temper bubbled. He'd had the upper hand, he'd had her pinned. One second of distraction and she'd gained the upper hand. If he'd been paying attention, the Wolf knew they could have packed up and set today up as a victory.

Nope.

He needed to give himself a memo. Masked wenches working for lowly lords are not to be trifled with.

 _The Lord guy's out for the count. He looked like a road kill._ He thought to himself. That was something, wasn't it? The leader of the enemy house dead. Something to shield him from Lord Shen's wrath.

...

"They could not have simply _vanished in thin air!"_

The scrolls, plans and papers were tossed off the low table to the polished marble floor. The Wolf Boss cringed under his master's sharp gaze; forcing down the urge to shrink back as the peacock rounded on him, eyes sharp. His shouts were oddly levelled during this chew-out session – that could only mean something terrible. "They must have hidden, sir – it means they couldn't get out the city. They're trapped here."

The pale peacock eyed him foully. To the wolf's great relief, he almost seemed to be...considering it. The peacock tucked his wings together again and straightened up. Composed, he sauntered slowly along the marble floor, pointedly disregarding the fallen pillars the deer guards were trying to repair. "Call in the wolves, all of them. Scour the city; scrape every surface, looking under ever _needle._ I want the girl alive."

The Soothsayer raised her head, "Oh?"

The peacock gave an indignant sigh, slightly thrown off. The Wolf Boss breathed out once the attention was gone from his shoulder.

"What?" Shen snapped at the Soothsayer.

"Alive?" The Soothsayer echoed gently. Shen looked as gentle as a cactus.

"The girl will lure out the other brat." He drawled slowly, pacing back towards the goat with the continuous slink-clink of his talons ringing around him. He smirked, "And both shall be disposed of on _my_ terms. If I want something done right, I'll do it _myself_."

He regarded the Wolf Boss at that. The canine cringed lightly, staring at his thick feet. He cleared his throat rather clumsily, "Sir, I managed the best I could given –"

"Ah yes, you managed that _dog_ woman guard just fine while they escaped." Shen shot back at him, effectively shutting down his argument. Soothsayer cocked a brow at his comment. "Have I employed a horde of weaklings? How can a low-standard guard defeat you?"

The Wolf Boss decided it would be a swell idea to focus his gaze on the pillars nearby. "Ah..." He ran his tongue over his snout, "Well, speaking of...them, the Lord Zhou – he didn't look near recovery when we last saw him." Changing the subject rather blatantly, he knew, but he couldn't think of anything else. Shen's lean brow rose, lifting a smirk on one side of his beak with it.

"Without skilled medical aid he'll perish." He elaborated coolly. He seated himself on a chair near the canon, sliding a wing across the smooth metal in the process. "Which I highly doubt they'll find hiding in the gutter."

"Should we send our search parties for the...other one?" The Wolf Boss ventured. Shen paused.

"Hmm." He stared at the wall, the thoughtful hum drawing out like a knife across butter. "...Not yet. No message will have been sent to their Stronghold – the brat will be _clueless_. I'll keep them that way."

So they were focusing on the one here. "What about the Five?"

"Kung Fu is a thing of the past." Shen noted, idly admiring his feathered fingertips. "And I'll make them a show of the future."

"And the boars –and dog woman?"

"Do with them what you will." Shen said, eyeing him almost suspiciously. "But make sure we are rid of them. Don't let that mutt defeat you again."

The fur on the wolf's body bristled. "Yes, sir."

He hurried away. Shen watched his back with a sneer.

"Oaf."

"He was not the first to be thrown off by a woman." The Soothsayer chimed merrily from nearby, "And he will not be the last. You yourself were caught off guard, if I am not mistaken, Shen."

The peacock's feathers ruffled slightly. "And just what would _you_ know about it? You weren't there during that...time." Memories of that _woman_ could stay in the ditch in his mind, where it belonged. Forever if need be. The Soothsayer gave an inward chuckle.

"You let her cloud your judgement, even now. You cannot blame your children for their mother, Shen." Her smile faded at that to a more sombre look. Shen scoffed.

"Do stop that. You aren't getting anywhere."

"Have you thought this through?" The Soothsayer deadpanned. Shen felt a surge of rage fly up his chest. Who was she to question him like this? Thirty Years, he'd patently planned, thought, contemplated. He was aware of what 'thinking it through' meant. He'd done it for decades.

"Yes! I have." He barked, turning swiftly to face her, "And unless your horns are weighing down your ear lobes as much as that head of yours, I'm sure you've heard me when I said –"

"You haven't." The Soothsayer remarked coolly. "You have not thought of any different road. You have picked one strategy that is far too simple for reality, Shen. Because you do not want to admit to yourself the depth of this situation."

Shen stared at her. Then, he gave a husky, condescending laugh. Oh how her quips failed nowadays. When he'd been a young man they'd struck his soul with their ominous words, the heavy tones, and the warning air. But now...now it was all smoke and mirrors. He saw her tricks, how she tried to wind her clever words around him.

It didn't work anymore, simple as that.

And it felt _grand_.

He skulked forward and only came to a halt once he was directly in front of her. Any trace of a smile was gone from her now; a stony expression in its place. He leaned down, and spoke softly. The words rolled off his tongue.

"Don't misunderstand this _situation,_ Old Goat. I am not the flustered boy I was. I am not your charge. I am not a wayward youth in need of correcting. I have an army. I have a weapon capable of levelling masters of masters. I keep the last memories of _Feng Wei_ close to my heart. The _final_ memories, ones quite like this one when she doubted my ambition, my _nerves._ "

He saw her face, darkening like a cloud over the sun, red-brown eyes narrow. Cold. No fond jabs or comments. Shen's voice dropped lower to an awful croon. It felt like gold in his throat.

"She thought I wouldn't have the gall either, Soothsayer. Many do. I proved my parents wrong with the pandas. I proved you wrong with _her._ Let's aim for three times _lucky_ and see if you finally understand me once I prove my point with my _precious children."_

...

The smaller boating dock, designed for creatures such as ducks or rabbits, made for uneasy hiding places. The water trickled gently against the stone; the noises soft and comforting like rainfall. The Five, Boars and peafowl were huddle on either side. The little rock platforms beneath each side of the bridge provided footing, the bridge itself the cover. It was cramped, and they couldn't stay like this forever. Tigress lifted her head to listen for the tenth time. Heavy steps pounded along the cobbled bridge, and faded. The wolves were prowling all through the city now; all civilians inside. It was unnaturally quiet.

Viper slid up her arm and to her shoulder, and despite the close range she dropped her voice quieter still. "Tigress, Lord Zhou isn't going to last much longer. We need some kind of hideout, soon!"

Teegan, on the other side of the river, lifted her head. "Tiger."

"What?" Tigress murmured. The dog paused as another set of feet clambered by.

"I'll scout for a hiding place. I know this city."

Tigress' eyes narrowed. The peahen, the older once with the sharp makeup, nodded stiffly. "She can be trusted. Let her go – the boars could keel into the water at any moment!"

"I thought you were gonna mentioned your brother, but oh well." Mantis muttered. Viper shot him a look. Tigress nodded once at Teegan.

"Be quick. Watch out for the Wolf Boss. I doubt he's as stupid as he looks."

The cloth-masked dog nodded once in response and slinked up to the road above, out of sight.


	7. Chapter 7

_I've been uploaded below a week at most, but I'll be slowing down as I'm getting busier nowadays. Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone, I'm surprised this got any attention at all._

 _Thanks :)_

* * *

Chapter 7

Canon Lupus

Teegan scaled the bridge, road and building in a matter of minutes. By the time the next guard patrol rolled by, the female canine had climbed one of the semi-tall buildings overlooking the street. It didn't give her any kind of advantage. With a frustrated sigh, she saw that the roads were just as identical here as they would be anywhere – bare of any citizens, crawling with wolves. They must have had every corner of the city under watch before they even arrived.

There _had_ to be somewhere, somewhere at least away from the water. Her nose wrinkled. The scent Sulphur and ash coated the air even here.

Behind her, she heard a growl. Her fur stood on end. For a moment, she was still; one hand upon the building wall, the other hanging quietly by her side. Then, she bolted, as a grey blur came soaring at her back. She turned mid jump and lashed out a leg to catch the Wolf Boss on the side of his jaw – but his claws flew up and caught her leg. With a violent tug, he pulled her back, free hand up and prepped to slice her across the face –

Teegan ducked, avoiding the blow, and slammed her elbow into his gut. The wolf doubled over with a grunt, winded for a half-second. She slammed the heel of her foot onto his shoulder and pushed up, and leaping over his head, arms wrapping around his neck to cling to him from behind. The Wolf Boss snarled and turned sharply, slamming his back against the nearby wall.

The collision almost knocked the air from her lungs, and her masked head reeled for a moment. Kung Fu Masters would be scornful of her crude style, but why not fight basic with basic? She kicked her legs against the small of his back, and shoved him forward, unpinning herself. The friction of the rather thin hide of her clothing and the stone wall behind her had hurt, and she was feeling it now, creeping up on her in a distracting sting. A shingle or two fell from the roof just inches above as she leaped to the side. He'd lunged against, teeth snapping loudly.

She hoisted herself onto the roof and jumped, landing with a clutter onto the next roof along. The Wolf Boss blinked his one good eye, confusion whipping over his face for a second, before a sneering grin stretched across his muzzle. With a 'huh' that wasn't so much of a laugh, he leaped onto the rooftop next. Teegan hopped to the next, then the next, picking up speed.

She was now deeply regretting not sitting down during their brief 'hiding'. While the Wolf Guard no doubtable had a meal and perhaps a sit-down, she'd been cramped under a bridge against the wall, toes precariously near the water. That in itself had made her limbs a little stiff.

And besides, she wasn't here to deal with mangy wolves; she needed to find a hiding place. She slid down the next roof, ignoring the disrupted shingles that she was no undoubtedly damaging, and onto one of the bridges joining the streets. She cast a look over his shoulder and saw he was on her tail. The dog sped up, darting along the bridge, across the street. She kicked off a barrel pile at the end of the road, then off a shop sign, grabbing at a windowsill to throw herself up further. She hopped up and grabbed the side of the rooftop, hauling herself up. Where were all the other wolves? That street had been empty –

A loud assortment of snarls broke her thoughts, and three wolves leaped at her from the other side of the rooftop. Teegan slipped back, a rare jolt of panic running through her brain – a trap, how could she be so stupid? Was she so desperate she was forgetting herself!?

A pair of arms reached out from behind and wrapped tight. Teegan smelled foul breath, felt it on the back of her ear, her chest and windpipe constricted by the ever-harsher grip. "Gotcha."

She bit down hard on his arm. The Wolf Boss let out a yowl of pain, his grasp loosening just a tad. She kicked back, knocking herself away, and ducked as the other wolves pounced. Instead of clawing her, they smacked square into their leader and all four of them toppled off the roof to the barrels and fruit baskets below. The glorious crash and chorus of yelps almost tempted her to stay and watch. Teegan forced down a grin and sprinted away, leaping across the next line of rooftops, gaining distance in the dark.

"Psst!"

She smelled raw rice. Her lip curling, she came to a halt. Adjacent to the roof she stood on sat a window. Behind the barely-open shutters, she could make out the sheepish figure of well...a sheep. She was peering through the crack in the wood at her with a terrified kind of enthusiasm. Teegan rose a brow; clearly apparent even beneath her cloth mask. "What?"

"That was very impressive, Miss Warrior." The sheep said in a hushed, albeit excited, whisper. Such innocent enthusiasm was hard not to smile to. Teegan nodded once.

"I thank you, but I must be going."

"You will need help!"

Her ears pricked. "I believe that is a little beyond your capabilities."

"No, not me – Masters Croc and Rhino are being held at Gongmen Jail." The sheep eagerly placed her hooves together, voice still hushed. Teegan tilted her head, very, very slowly. The Jail...

"Point me in the direction."

...

Joining the small tables cluttered with maps, construction papers and war plans, various more coated in food, drink and seasonings had been set. Shen barely touched the food when it arrived, however, exquisite as it was.

"Is the other child another girl?"

The Soothsayer wasn't surprised often. It came with the territory of being a Soothsayer. Even now, it felt muted, and perhaps she was expecting such curiosity beneath her worry. But so soon, and so bluntly? Clearly Shen's mind wasn't changed. A single brow lifting, she placed down her cup of steaming tea with a soft clink. "And what would that change, Shen?"

"Nothing." The pale peacock responded indifferently, striding past her to the open balcony doors. The sun was long gone; the sky a deep, starless black. His scooped up his lance from its perch against a pillar nearby, a lofty smirk upon his beak. "It'll inform me if this issue requires _all_ of my attention after all." He gave the weapon a soft spin. The Soothsayer's brow rose even further,

"You believe that if both are girls then their claim to the Throne will be any less? There are no males heirs, Shen." She wasn't scathing, just reproachful. Somehow that made Shen's feathers bristle even more than they would have otherwise. The Soothsayer smiled coyly,

"By now you should know that women pose just as big of a threat as men."

Shen scoffed, turning his back on her with a less-than elegant swish. "Oh, do stop it."

"Stop what?"

" _Trying to remind – insinuate – "_ He gave a quick but heavy sigh to compose himself, rolling his eyes – his head followed the gesture, tilting to the side. "Never mind. I'll deal with them either way, if those dratted wolves find them within the decade that is."

"I am not insinuating anything, Shen." The Soothsayer returned cheerily, lifting her tea, eyes closed in tranquillity – one for one to crack open like an adolescent girl ready to gossip. "And as for your question, I do not know about the other child."

" _Hmph_." Shen strode a little away from her, thoroughly annoyed.

...

Croc was coaxed out of the recesses of sleep by a muted sound. His brow furrowed, eyes still tightly shut. So much so his face felt stiff. His arms, folded behind his head, had an odd ache to them that he didn't recognize. It had been hard to get comfortable here. He supposed, with a bitter smirk, that was what he got for getting to used to 'City Steward' Life...

A thud. Soft, muffled, but there still the same. He cracked one eye open, letting his whole body remain still. His guard was up instantly, that is, if it had ever been down. "...Ox."

He could hear the wolves murmuring. Hearing was never his greatest strongpoint. He opened his eyes fully and sat up, scowling. Ox was already standing, scowling quietly through the criss-cross bars at the Jail door. The sounds of speech and thudding had died down as quickly as they'd come.

The guards inside the Jail glanced at each other, and then exchanged a shrug. Ox and Croc sat down again, slowly.

A blur of red and black swooped down and crashed upon the two. A cloud, painful crack reverberated through the Jail House, and Master Croc himself cringed at the noise. A tiger, poised in a kung-fu stance, had crushed the two guards beneath her feet in a double-kick. A flurry of pale grey and navy soared past their cell and slammed into the next pair of guards opposite her on the overhang. They were struck against the wall; the crane's talons had wrapped around their heads and thrown them back against it. They were out for the count in that same moment, and slumped to the floor.

Croc and Ox, after the events of the past week, were sure that nothing could catch them by surprise again. Oh, how sorely mistaken they were. A masked dog rushed inside, carrying what looked like a bloodied bundle of blue and green feathers –

"Who is that?" Ox demanded. The dog placed the unconscious, floppy peacock on the stone floor.

"Lord Zhou." The Tiger woman strode down the stairs to the circular floor below. "And we're the furious five."

"We'll be _accommodating_ here until further notice, Masters Croc and Ox." The dog said smoothly, wrapping a tight cloth around the unconscious peafowl beside her. Next, a monkey appeared, swinging in from outside.

"We're clear, no one saw us in, or the guards go missing."

"They will eventually." Crane remarked, leaning past the Monkey as if trying to catch the Tiger's gaze. "Tigress, we need to send Lord Zhou somewhere else before we even think about confronting Shen."

"You confronted Shen?" Ox's harsh, grating voice silenced all further conversation. All heads turned his way. Seeing he had their attention, his face hardened. "If you invoke that madman's wrath any further, he will turn the weapon on the city!"

"Trust me, we've seen it." Viper slid across the cobbled floor to the peacock lying on the ground. If Ox was thrown off by how gentle a deadly snake warrior looked at seeing an injured party, he didn't show it. "Lord Shen managed to destroy a whole staircase with it."

"Who are these people?" Qiánxíng snapped, the boars gathering behind her as she strode into view. Confusion rippled over Croc's face,

"Who are you people?" He retorted, more bewildered than defensive. Tigress raised her arms,

"Everyone, _quiet_."

There was silence. Qiánxíng scowled at her, but thankfully kept her beak shut.

"...Why is Lord Shen doing this?"

A small, vacant voice rang out from behind Tigress. The feline turned her head, frowning, at the girl. Julan was huddled by one of the empty cells, her wing-feathers tangled together. She didn't look scared, or incredibly nervous. There was an unreadable blankness to her that brushed Tigress the wrong way, for some reason. The girl looked away from the Tiger's frown. "...What does he have against my family? Me? I don't want anything from him. At all."

Her face and tone, just a little, hardened. Tigress raised a brow.

Qiánxíng snorted, "Thanks to your mother, our family is near bankrupt, _Julan."_ She folded her wings with a demeaning sort of smirk. Tigress felt a wave of dislike, "We had no choice but to approach the council."

"Wait." Ox's voice rang out in clarity, his frown vanishing only to return to his broad face tenfold, "YOU? That is the child, you brought her _here?"_

"Shen POSED as you and sent back a reply. We had no reason to be suspicious, and by the time we where it was too late." The peahen shot back viciously, pointing a feather up at the giant Ox. It would have been laughable to see such a display but something about her nails on chalkboard voice made most of the people in the Jail House cringe. Despite most people being Kung Fu Warriors.

"He wants me dead." Julan said uneasily. Ox looked at her, and she seemed to have wanted to shrink back, but thought against it. This resulted in an odd little flinch.

"Of course he does. He's paranoid. He can't have _anything_ challenge him."

Tigress placed her hands on her hips, slowly. "...So let's...address this." She approached the girl. Julan stepped back, but made no move to run, a defensive look crossing her face and muddling with the unease already there. It made her too-large eyes look even sicklier.

Tigress stared down at her, hard and unflinching. "So. You're the offspring of Lord Shen."

Julan stared back, eyes blank. Then, she lowered her head, her voice a mumble.

"Apparently."

"Hmph." Qiánxíng turned away. The rest of the Furious Five exchanged inquisitive glances. Viper slid by Tigress' feet, shooting her a very particular look.

"We don't have anything against you for that." The snake said, smiling at the girl. The smaller peahen blinked at her. Of course, it wasn't every day that a Kung Fu Warrior snake is friendly to you. Then again, this was an odd week. She managed some kind of wonky smile in return.

"Uh...thanks..."

"You all need to leave this city. _Now."_

"No chance." Tigress retorted lowly. Viper slithered back to Lord Zhou's side. He was shifting, eyes moving behind tightly closed eyelids. Julan and Qiánxíng stared with bated breath.

"Nnnr...What on..." The unkempt Lord's eyes opened by a centimetre. "What's going on?"

"Don't move. The bleeding's stopped, but you lost a lot of blood."

Julan tilted her head. Caught in her relative's robes, she could see a slender, slithery blade still knotted into the fabric. She padded closer as he raised a stiff wing to his head.

"Gods, I feel ill...what...what happened?"

"We've evaded Shen for now, Lord Zhou. You'll get help soon."

"Not soon. Now. Haven't you been listening to what I said?" Ox pressed, fingers curling into a pair of powerful fists. He _easily_ managed to look formidable even behind bars. "If we fight back, Shen will hurt the populace – we cannot risk it!"

"You can't."

"Tigress, he's right! We have to focus on getting these guys to safety _before_ taking on Shen." Viper cut in. Tigress rounded on her. Her look was ice cold, her face framed by shadows – most men would quiver in fear at the mere glance of it. Viper remained stiff.

"We don't. Have the time. If Shen spreads his forces past the reaches of this city, we _won't_ be able to contain him."

"She has a point." Mantis, unseen by all until this very moment, muttered. Viper stared at him with all the scathing reprimand of a school teacher catching a naughty child doodling on his homework.

The conversation ended there. Not because of the look. But because a howl broke through the air outside, quiet but looming, and it travelled all across the city.

...

Upon the balcony, Shen was overlooking the city with a narrowed gaze. The Wolf Boss stood to his left, letting out a second howl. Shen would have been irked by the closeness at any other time, but he ignored his hearing's discomfort for the sake of results. He wanted to see them himself. They couldn't have left the city, and it couldn't be possible for all of these dratted wolves to miss them, could it? He perched his wings upon the balcony's carved railings.

Various howls echoed back to his colleague from all points in the city. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, the Wolf's stare focus on a particular spot. The canine's fur ruffled.

"Sir, there's no reply from the Jail House."

Shen scowled. They wouldn't. Where they really so stupid as to...oh. No. That was rather clever, if he'd been a few digits lower on the IQ chart. Hiding the one place they'd never think to look. "Hmm...Send a few wolves to investigate. Quietly. Do nothing until I have _all_ of the information I need."

"Will we be disposing of most of them?" The Wolf Boss inquired. Shen glanced at him. He seemed...more bitter than usual. He kept his gaze to the floor, voice neutral. Shen rolled his eyes, allowing a tiny portion of a smirk to appear on his face.

 _Easily vexed fool._

"You can deal with the dog wench and the boars however you want. Leave the Kung Fu Masters to me. We need an _example_ after all."

* * *

 _That howling must hurt them peacock ears._

 _Please review :) It would help a lot._


	8. Chapter 8

_I have no idea where this chapter was going. I'm taking a break from writing as I've gotten very busy these past few weeks, so the next update may be a...while. I don't know. It was difficult to write this chapter; I may just be tired, but I don't want to lose interest too soon. But I also don't want to force anything out. So yeah, wait inevitable._

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Chapter 8

Plant the Seed

...

Tigress turned around in a snap, facing the group. "We have to move. They'll notice the guards are gone."

"We have to _move_ alright; our butts _out of here."_ Qiánxíng retorted, stalking over to face her; angrier than her much smaller body would allow. She pointed a feather – well, finger – up at the tiger's nose. "Now! You can face that white maniac if you want, but we have to get out of here before my brother bleeds to death!"

As if on cue, Zhou muttered something. Viper cast Tigress a worried look, "Tigress, he's running a fever; his wound might be getting infected."

Julan looked like she was having trouble breathing. Teegan's ears flew up.

"They're coming, I can hear them – Tiger, I think you're outvoted."

Tigress could have caused a great slaughter of history if looks had the capability to kill. "We can't leave on foot; they'll apprehend us before we get out of the city if we make a run for it."

Wh-what about the boats?"

Tigress's look almost knocked the girl over, but Julan managed not to flinch too much. "I mean, it'll take too long to get back the way we came – if we take a boat we could go out to sea. It's much closer, just behind the palace – it's dark so –"

"They'll cut us down with the canon before we reach the harbour." Tigress returned coldly. Julan swallowed, glancing left, right, as if an object in the room would spring up and give her advice.

"Speaking of canons, it created a lot of dust and smoke...maybe gunpowder is the answer here." Qiánxíng had tucked a wing to her side; other up in the air to parrot her words. Teegan tilted her head, but the Kung Fu Masters – Ox and Croc included – exchanged weary glances.

"This whole mission is about containing Shen's influence, not encouraging it." Tigress said, her tone all but hostile. Qiánxíng's smile faltered.

"I didn't saw we were going to paint ourselves white and red, wear flimsy robes and start building canons. I just meant we could use the city's fireworks to cover our escape. Masters Ox, Croc." She tilted her head their way, "Where would such a supply of and other smoke-causing ingredients be?"

"Just this once." Ox said firmly. Qiánxíng nodded curtly, wings folding against her chest. "All right, there's a storage tower nearby here; with a blue sign on the left side. It's by the rivers so you're in luck."

"We get a boat and sail by it, then someone gets up to the tower and sets of the fireworks." Mantis, having been silent up till now, looking inherently pleased to be saying something.

"I'll do it." Teegan said, quickly. Tigress eyed her, but tipped her head stiffly.

"Right. We'll use a light signal to tell you when to act. Crane –"

Crane straightened up.

"You'll keep an eye on what's going on from above. Find us a boat, nearby. The rest of us will keep the wolves at bay until we start moving." She regarded the boar guards standing uneasily nearby.

"You'll shield your Lord and Lady. Leave the wolves to us. You're a last resort."

"Y-yes ma'am." One of them coughed. Qiánxíng clapped her wings together.

"Right then. Off we pop."

...

Climbing up buildings in the dead of night was becoming a habit for her. Teegan realized this as she scaled the tower she'd been told about; a rather stout one hovering by the riverbanks. Down the street, a boat slid softly and steadily atop the river between roads. Five or so wolves were aboard; torches in hand, surveying the street. Their torchlight cast mangled shadows, ones that sent any civilians that were peeking through their windows jumping back inside.

Teegan, hanging onto the side of the tower like a mollusc, watched. She saw the black blurs standing, perfectly calm, on the boat. Then, from either side, various arms reached out, grabbed their snouts, and dragged them off and out of sight. She didn't even hear a splash.

Tigress and Monkey tossed the unconscious wolves into a shack just beside the river. Tigress, her nose wrinkling, studied the street. No more patrols. Her eyes narrowed. "...Wait."

An arrow flew by her nose. Her teeth barring, she waved her arm. The board guards came sprinting across the street, eyes bulging, carrying Lord Zhou in a way that made them look like terrified children clutching a teddy bear. From the rooftops on either side of the river came wolves, some leaping out from buildings, some simply standing up from where they'd ducked behind shingled roofs. She knew it was too easy. Why didn't they all just _listen_?

Tigress gave a small exhaled of frustration and readied herself as the first wave of wolves came charging. Crane hadn't seen any of them – how was that possible?

...

Teegan heard howling. The workshop atop the tower was cluttered with shelves, tables and boxes full of all kinds of firework and powder; she hadn't known where to start. She'd gotten a single firework up and working by the time she was about to light a match. "...?"

She looked over the railing. Wolves. "Oh, come on."

"You said it."

She knew it was him before the fist came at her head. Teegan ducked and elbowed his side; he brought his leg up and kneed her in the middle. She gagged, dropping the match. "Ack!" The Wolf Boss came at her again; this time she evaded, grabbing the next firework and striking him over the head with it.

"Ow-!"

Down below, Tigress leaped off the boat and kicked the first wolf in the chin; stopping him from burying his mace in the head of one of the boar guards. Qiánxíng and Julan hopped on board, stumbling as another pair of mangy canines clawed at them. Monkey swooped in from the mast; winding the rope around them and kicking them into their fellows. Torchlight lit up the street and suddenly the cover of the night lifted; the silence disintegrated into howls.

"We need to speed the boat up!" Mantis yelled over the carnage; kicking two wolves simultaneously. The wolves were leaping onto the boat now; the wood creaked ominously under the weight. Viper tripped a few back into the water, but more kept coming.

Something smashed into the sail. Tigress looked up, caught in a rare moment of shock. Crane came sliding down, landing with a thud atop one of the boar guards. An arrow in his wing.

"Ah – my wing...!"

" _Tigress!"_

"Look out!"

One of the wolves threw itself her way. She lifted her paws, curled her fists, ready to strike back...but something struck the side of the boat. A puff of smoke went up; the smell of it strung her eyes, her nose, unlike anything she'd ever encountered. It wasn't gas, it wasn't dust –

The wolf's teeth came at her from the fog, barred. Her eyes widened.

 _Bash._

The wolf flopped at her feet. Julan stood, holding the remains of a glass pot, gulping down air. She looked up at Tigress, shivering. Tigress blinked once.

"..."

Monkey snatched the last piece of glass from the girl's hands and directed it at the torchlight; catching the glint. The reflective surface blazed white and broke through the smog.

Tigress snapped out of it, turned, and kicked yet another wolf from the boat. "Keep them off until Teegan lights the fireworks!"

..

Teegan blocked his fists with the side of her forearm, "Why is an entire clan of wolf mercenaries following a banished Lord, anyway?"

"Pays better than those guys you work for, Sweet Thing!" The Wolf Boss stepped back from her slicing paw, his claws sinking into a wooden stack load of gunpowder. With a grunt he swung it her way; bottles and jars crashing over her head. Teegean raised her arms to shield herself, but the glass shattered against her skin, caught in her fur. She bit back a yowl of pain and leaped out of the way as the Wolf tried to tip the now empty shelves onto her.

She stumbled, arms curled against her chest. She looked past him, through the shadows, trying to find some exit. She slid around a counter, past another collection of gleaming jars and bottles. The Wolf Boss, his lips curling, slammed his arm onto the surface and swung it left. He sent the innocent equipment clattering to the floor in a flurry of broken glass. Her back curling, Teegan moved back, feet steady through her breath was not.

Her crippled stature and the fact she was moving back from him with every step didn't go unnoticed. The Wolf Boss advanced slowly, shrugging, arms up. "Times are changing, in case you didn't notice. Old Houses like the idiots _you_ serve are running into the dirt – unless they work for something to keep their rich asses on cushy pillows."

"So building a weapon of mass destruction is the way forward?" Teegan hissed through her teeth. The Wolf gave a leering grin, shrugging a second time,

"My wolves can handle an army, but it doesn't hurt to have somethin' around to take down enemy numbers. Lord Shen knows when to cut his losses. Personally, I think you should _dump_ those snobs you work for while you still got the chance."

He stopped in front of her, eyeing her with a single reproachful pupil. Teegean didn't step back again; it would send her back against the wall and arms bleeding like a stuck pig or not, she didn't want to look that desperate. She felt light-headed; leaning against something sounded nice, but a prickle of pride still lingered in her chest. "Is that an offer?" Her mouth curled bitterly.

The Wolf Boss paused, as if wondering whether to play along to the quip or not. He smirked, "Maybe."

She shifted back. He seemed pretty sure of himself, didn't he, following a maniac hell bent on the murder of his own children, and countless others.

A sharp pain leaped up both of the dog's arms. Teegan felt her head reel.

"What is it that made you so loyal to him in the first place?" Teegan growled, the blood of her arms, decorated by criss-cross-cuts seeping into the fabric covering her torso.

The Wolf Boss's single eye narrowed and he gave a gruff, hollow laugh. "Oh. I guess, if you wanna take down notes...the top of the list would be: working for a maniac is way more _fun."_

Teegan sneered. The pain was pulling at her, making her burn on the inside. It was hard to keep her breathing steady, that is, steady enough not to sound like she was about to flop to the floor.

"What happened between Shen and the family?" She had to keep him talking; she needed another moment to prepare. Where was the signal? The Wolf Boss tilted his head, grinning lopsidedly.

"You don't know? Don't know what happened with his _woman?"_

The Wolf Boss balled one fist and knocked it into the palm of the other. Twice. "What are you gonna do _now?"_

" _...No."_ Hell hath no fury like a peacock scorned by a woman apparently?

Something glinted out of the corner of her eye. Signal.

She kicked him in the chin. He recovered fast.

He lunged. Teegan's eyes widened and she threw herself left; she felt his claws skim the air directly behind her ears and she kicked off him; sending him staggering back into the table and sending herself forward.

The kick has sent fresh waves of nausea through Teegan's body. Her shoulder knocked against a door and she scrabbled at the edges, throwing it open and stumbling outside. She heard him curse behind her, kicking aside various equipment in his way.

A pair of arms appeared from either side of her.

Déjà-Vu. The Wolf Boss's arms wrapped tight around her, rough leather grating against her bleeding limbs. A yelp bubbled in her throat and she kicked out, but her leg barely lifted before he slammed her head first into the wall. She propped her feet against the wood and tried to push off, only for him to lift her again and slam her a second time. Her head swayed.

"Get off. Get _off."_

"...No."

Another slam. Blurry dots danced in front of her eyes and her legs felt weak. She hadn't set off the fireworks. She needed...

Her legs found ground, numb and painful. She opened her jaws, ready to bite down on his arm –

 _Slam._

She fell to her knees, the grip finally gone, but her whole body aching. Above her, he growled, "Not this time."

She raised her head to snarl his way. Past him, lying on the floor, she saw the match flickering near a crate of fireworks. Her snarl faltered. "...!"

The Wolf Boss saw her look, scowled, and turned his head. His single eye widened.

"Uh oh."

...

"What _is_ going on down there...?" What indeed. At one moment the wolves were moving towards the jail, as planned, the next; there was chaos in the streets. One spot in the city was alight like a bonfire. Shen grumbled under his breath. What's more, he couldn't be there to regulate anything, he was too far away. Stood atop the balcony, he tapped a wing against his side, trying to quench the bubbling frustration he could feel crawling up his throat. He might have managed if the Soothsayer hadn't appeared beside him.

"This is working out far harder than you expected." She commented, leaning on her cane. "Your wolves are having trouble."

"They are quite capable. They just aren't used to me telling them to let some of our targets live for the time being. It addles their brains."

Even the Soothsayer couldn't have predicted what came next. The light from the firework tower tore through the night sky like a knife through fabric; orange, red and yellow blazing against the black and popping in the dark. The tremor in the ground reached them even from the heist point in the Palace; a soft ripple beneath their feet. Shen gaped, all dignity lost, frozen for a moment. Then his face twisted into a sneer and he leaped, without a word, off the balcony. His train flew out like a fan and he glided through the air like a cipher, leaving the Soothsayer lost for words.

Shen landed upon one of the factories nearer the explosion with a rough, scraping slam; talons digging into the wood. The wolves gathered there jumped at his entrance, staring at him stupidly. He struck one of them over the head with his wing, "Don't just stand there, contain the fire! I didn't overthrow this city to burn it to the ground!"

He stormed across the overhang at the end of the factory towards the street in question. He could see, below, the familiar shapes of his enemies. Dazed, some of them lying, some of them just staggering to their feet. His beak curled. All too easy. Perhaps this wasn't much of a mishap after all.

Tigress managed to get to her feet despite feeling like she'd inhaled a chimney full of smoke. She coughed once and forced her back to straighten. Her vision cleared. The boat was still intact. They'd been shifted back down river. But the wolves were dazed. This was their chance.

"We have to go, _now."_

Julan, her head thudding with pain, looked up at the tower. Inside, her blood ran cold. "...Teegan?"

A soft 'poof' sound carried over the air, muffled. All heads lifted up as it faded away. Jualan blinked, her senses slowly sharpening. She'd heard that before, only much, much louder, hadn't she...?

She turned her head. Something bright, sprinkling and sparking was flying towards them, getting bigger and bigger –

 _Gods -!_

"Look out!"

The cannonball hit the centre of the boat, crashing through wood, sending splinters flying upward like confetti. The floor caved; tipped, and the boat split in tow, sinking slowly into the water. The boars scrambled for the road, but they were too far from the stone street to make it.

A shard of wood struck the young peahen's head. Her body jerked, her head felt like it had exploded on the inside.

Julan skidded and lost her footing. She slid down the near horizontal deck and the cold water engulfed her being, biting at her feathers, drenching her down to the bone. She sank, kicking dizzily, as the fire flickered in a blurry image above the surface.

Her head hurt so much.

The last thing she was conscious of was a paw gripping the back of her shawl, and tugging hard. The cold left her, but so did everything else as blackness came over her mind.


	9. Chapter 9

_Thanks for all of the support. I got this out a a week update; hopefully I'll be able to keep up that you enjoy this chapter; to me it felt a bit clunky._

 _Please review if you can, and enjoy._

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Chapter 9

One, Two, Three

...

 _I'll show them. I'll show them._

 _A broken table and chair. Shredded wood littering the ground. A metal door, thicker than a tree, heavier than a boulder, locked tighter than a jail. No window, stone walls, a single beg with faded flowery sheets. The chill of the winter seeped in yet; despite how tightly locked the room was. She couldn't bring herself to huddle under the blankets, however much she wanted to hide, to curl up. She wanted to be warm but if she tried to grasp the sheets of the bed she knew they'd tear in her grip. The faded flower pattern was the only thing in the room that didn't bother her._

 _Tigress tucked her knees against her chest; chin resting on them. Her breath drifted up, visible against the cold, like steam._

 _Monsters aren't afraid of the cold. Monsters don't need blankets. Don't need it._

 _She heard murmuring, even through the bolted door. She knew what they were saying._

 _More locks, more metal. Keep her inside. Why did we think we could take her on?_

 _Again and again. Tigress held her knees tighter to her chest, painfully tight. She felt like she was falling apart and she had to hold herself together._

 _People spoke of her, but at the same time it felt like they weren't. They spoke to someone about her, not directly to her. Two people would be talking; they wouldn't ask her about anything. Her answers were said by the Matron; many things she didn't agree on. She didn't have enough food, even though she got the same as the others. Why did she always feel hungrier than they did?_

 _She tried not to think about anything when people approached her. Thinking could make her angry, and when she got angry things_ _ **broke...**_

 _She could keep her mind blank, but she felt the hurt all the same._

..

There was a ringing sound. For a few moments, that was all Julan could differentiate from the foggy sounds clanging all around her. Then, sharp slices, clashing blades, yells. It was like she was under water, hearing it all from below the surface. It looked that way, too. Everything was blurry, cold, and she couldn't feel the fire even though it was –

Oh.

She was underwater. Lovely. No, wait, she was moving. Something was dragging her up, up, to the noise, lights, to the surface –

Blessed air flew into her lungs a bit too quickly. Julan gagged a little and forced her stinging eyes open. She struggled but her limbs felt like sodden rags; heavy and floppy. She managed to crane her neck enough to look behind, praying to Gods it wasn't someone intent on slitting her throat –

It was the tiger woman, still clutching her by the scruff like a wayward pup. "We have to move."

Julan barely managed a wheeze in reply. It was the best she could manage, really. Her brain had stopped swimming (excusing the pun) and everything was coming into focus. She really wished it hadn't. The boat had collapsed; they were sitting on the stone street beside the river. Fire was licking the air, high into the sky, from the supply tower. She could see the rest of the Five fighting the wolves, but not any of the boars. Her heart have a horrible sink; a twisting sensation in her stomach.

"The boars..."

The Tiger woman said nothing, released her, and swung forward to meet a wolf speeding towards them. Julan knelt where she was, feeling numb. Shaking, she turned her head to stare at the fire-ridden tower. Teegan.

The horrible sensation in her stomach worsened. "Teegan...?"

She saw movement, past the tower. Another building; in the direction the canon ball had came. Something white and fan-like swept down to the ground below. Her eyes broadened. "Lord Shen – Shen is coming!"

Qiánxíng stood up. It was only then the smaller peahen actually noticed she was there; crouched beside a fallen pile of baskets. Lord Zhou lay at her feet, still and groggy but his eyes where open. Julan scuttled closer like a startled cricket. Qiánxíng's sharp eyes grew narrow. "Great." She glanced at the Five; still battling it out with the wolf pack. None of them noticed the three despite them being their sole targets. "We'll slip away now."

Julan stared up at her. "But – what about our guards? Teegan – the Five?"

"We're no use to them here." She retorted, not even looking her way. Julan scowled, feathers curling.

"We won't even be able to carry Zhou –"

"Since _when_ did you think you could talk to me like –"

 _Crash._

The two went quiet, staring, as a fist burst through the rubble that was the tower moments ago. A clawed, black fist. The Wolf Boss dragged himself from the debris, gnarling like a beast. His body was sprinkled with ash and his armour was scraped, but he was alive – and unfortunately – in one piece.

A yelp came from the opposite direction. The Lord's Boar Guard where trying to fight off the gorilla pair – how they'd gotten here so fast Julan would never know. Their blades where blunt and their eyes were bulging, they were afraid. Julan looked back at the Five but they were preoccupied with their own opponents. It was insane.

The Wolf Boss, who had been swaying a bit after his emerging from the rubble, had regained his bearings. He growled, eyes set on something else in the rubble a few meters away. Julan stood up, legs wobbling, trying to catch a glimpse.

Teegan lay beneath a few fallen beams; cloth mask burned away to reveal her lean, fawn face; black eyelids shut tight; body coated in soot. Utter out for the count, but maybe not dead. The Wolf Boss snarled and began striding towards her, kicking aside the singed wood in his way, his posture bristling. Julan's feathers bristled in horror.

"No –"

"Come back!" She didn't listen. Julan sprinted away from Qiánxíng, leaving the woman gaping stupidly. She clumsily avoided one of the wolves' clubs (he was trying to hit the Mantis to no avail) ducked under the punching arm of one of the gorillas and closer to the fallen building -

 _SLAM._

The lance came down directly in front of her. She skidded, falling to her scraggly knees, halting just before the gleaming metal. Her own face, perfectly reflected, stared back at her in horror. The blade was so clear she could see every ruffled feather, her own bloodshot eyes widening to the breaking point. Her breath hitching, Julan turned her head. Standing there, closer than ever, was Shen; the lance in front of her acting like an extension to his wing. She swallowed, unmoving, simply watching him. Her mind _wouldn't_ work.

Shen's beak pulled into back in a smile, his eyes terribly calm for someone wielding a weapon taller than she was. "In a rush, Girl?"

"...I'm Julan." Her voice wavered like a bell struck the wrong way, but she didn't feel afraid. Not the same kind of afraid you felt of the dark, something else, something coated by...

The blade moved, sending a soft slice through the air. Julan turned her head, cringing as it hovered just a millimetre away from her feathered neck.

One of the boar guards squealed. Julan felt the noise tear at her inside and she turned her head, neck stiff. She couldn't budge, not an inch. The boar guard had fallen, back to the stone, eyes still open but foggy and strange. Her blood ran cold.

The muscles on her brow worked on their own accord. She frowned. Her body gave a small spasm that was but a mockery of a shiver. "I w...won't let you kill me easily, Lord Shen. This is – this is..."

"The way of things in this world." Shen finished stonily. Julan grimaced, leaning away from the blade. _Why isn't he killing me, why is he playing around?_

He liked talking. Well, she liked talking, too. She deepened her frown by the tiniest movement of a muscle. "So what's changed?"

She saw Shen's expression change a little. His smile faltered and she forced down her reaction to it. "Excuse me?"

"You aren't killing me right away. What changed the plan?"

The cold metal brushed her feathers, through to her skin. Julan held her breath but she had to keep looking back at him, had to keep eye contact. If she didn't she knew she would break. Shen gave a soft, inward huff.

"That isn't your concern. I simply need you alive for a little longer. Don't fret." His smirk returned just a little, "I'll be putting you out of your misery eventually."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Wolf Boss was standing over Teegan's limp form. He leaned down, grasped the wood both pinning and shielding her, and ripped it aside. Julan swallowed. Think.

Shen saw her look and glanced over his shoulder. It was a split-second action, not enough for her to do anything. He gave a short chuckle. "Pity your _Guard_ turned out so useless. I thought I left your family in a desolate state after what happened with your _mother..._ but it turned out worse than I imagined."

Julan's brain stopped working again, then kick-started into full speed a moment later. She felt _sick._ "My mother?" She asked, vacantly. She didn't look at Shen, she looked past him at Teegan. The Wolf Boss seized the limp dog by the back of her neck and jerked her up. Teegan stirred, eyes moving behind heavy lids. Another boar guard was struck down by the wolves; overpowered by the swarm. A cricket devoured by ants. Julan shuddered, a lump rising in her throat.

"You didn't know her." She said, her voice a horrible half-wail. Shen shot her an incredulous look before adding another laugh.

"Oh, and I suppose _you_ did?" He drew back his blade; folding it behind his wing and stepped to her side, hovering over her. Julan clasped her wings together as he circled her like a vulture, "Did your relatives never tell you about it?"

"I never usually speak to them." She forced down the thickness in her throat, the stinging in her eyes. Her feathered 'fingers' curled around a shard of rock before her. The Wolf Boss was raising his clawed fist, Teegan hanging loosely from the other. Julan breathed in.

Shen stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the Wolf and the Dog. She had no choice but to stare up at him again, her beak parting in surprise.

"What happened with my mother that was so bad, then? How did she die?"

There was something so gleeful, so demonic, about his look – he wasn't even smiling _that much,_ just a little, his eyes again just a little too wide, too eager. Julan leaned back, making no move to hide her grimace.

"What's...funny...?"

"The very thing that you clearly _do_ _ **not**_ _know."_

Julan couldn't handle his look. She threw herself onto her side, looking past him, and tossed the shard with all her scrawny strength at the Wolf Boss's head. It struck against his forehead and crumbled into bits on impact. He stumbled back, tripped on more rubble and toppled over. Teegan fell from his grip with a flop. Shen gave a blink, but acted quickly. He lifted his lance but Julan wasn't having it. She ducked under his wing and sprinted to Teegan, tossed herself onto her side and began tugging at her with all she had.

A knife dove into the rubble beside her and Julan gave a massive start. Shen was stalking towards her, eyes blazing with indignation, when something slipped in front of him and blocked his path.

And struck him clean across the face. Qiánxíng had stepped in front of him; nowhere near as tall and formidable, but she was grasping something behind her back. She beamed with a sharp, lethal cheeriness up at Shen, "Oh, didn't see you there."

"Get out of the way." The white peacock snapped, "You and the remains of your wretched family may live if you leave now."

Qiánxíng's eyes became slits of poison. "Oh, dearest Lord Shen, I'm afraid they won't be staying 'remains' for very long." She swung a broken piece of wood, concealed behind her back until then, at his head. Shen moved quickly; slicing through the board with his lance and flipping his train around – tripping her up. Qiánxíng fell on her back and Shen spun his lance, raising it high above her. The shadow of the lean blade cast across her face and for a moment Qiánxíng's eyes widened in terror –

A smaller blade blocked the blow. Shen blinked in alarm when he saw the culprit; Julan was on her feet, legs trembling, holding the feather-like dagger that he'd tossed at her moments ago. Parrying his lance. Shen gave a callous sneer and twisted his own weapon; yanking the dagger from her trembling grip. Julan gave a sharp gasp and stumbled forward, Qiánxíng pushed herself up, grabbed her by the back of her shawl and pulled her away. Shen threw out a wing; several knives flew from his sleeve. He aimed for the legs – after all, he needed them alive, not in one piece –

A growl tore through the air as the Dog-Woman leaped into view, shield in hand and intercepted the knives. A trail of blood travelled down her forehead to her neck but she paid it no mind. Shen gave a snort.

"I'm battling a bunch of gutter-rats."

"Not for long!"

He spun around just in time to parry the sharp talons of the Crane. The Kung Fu Master spun in the air and moved behind him; Shen train made it too difficult to turn quick enough. He lifted a sleeve and a grapple sped out towards the airborne bird; a rope attached to the hilt. The same trick had worked nicely on Master Ox; it should be no different –

The Crane dodged it well. Hmph. Of course a bird would be able to evade such a trick. A shard of wood bounced off his shoulder. Shen gave an incredulous huff and glanced in the direction it came. The scrawny girl had tossed it at him. That sharp-faced relative of hers was pulling her away.

"Thank you for reminding me you're trying to escape." He called pleasantly. Qiánxíng cuffed the girl about the head.

The Wolf Boss hopped to his side, bleeding and covered in soot. The pale peacock scowled and stepped away from him, grimacing. Really. "What are you waiting for? Have the wolves block off the area!"

"Sir, they won't get past the next street." The canine wheezed. Shen was sure he'd seen ash on his breath, even. He rolled his eyes. The girl and her wench of a relative had run off with the Dog – and by the looks of it, said dog had Zhou draped over her shoulder. He couldn't hold back a laugh.

He folded his wings together and watched as the remaining wolves gave chase, teeth snapping.

Tigress spotted a blur of red-pink and green-brown vanish around the corner. She frowned, "We have to follow them! Leave the wolves!"

"What about the boars?" Viper called back, tripping up and tangling her opponent in a ribbon she'd pulled from a nearby shop. Tigress threw a sideways glance at the pigs in question.

"...They're dead."

She leaped up, onto the rooftops above. Monkey and Crane looked back at the bodies of the guards, uncertainty clouding their faces, but they followed behind her all the same. Viper gave a short sigh and whipped after them; Mantis hopping alongside Tigress's feet.

"Shen's back there, he's just watchin'." He remarked. Tigress's scowl deepened. If he was feeling so confident, he must have had another trick up his sleeve. Or he was as insane as Shifu warned. But she didn't have time to think about that now; she had to get to the peafowl.

"There!" Viper gestured with the end of her tail. They halted their roof-top leaping. Tigress saw the three; in the street to the left, near a factory. She jumped off the shingled roof and landed yards behind them,

"Qiánxíng!" She barked furiously, about to really let her have it when a chorus of loud, clinking thuds rang around her and the Five.

Her face pulled back in shock. On either side of them, hidden away in the buildings, where canons. In a noodle shop, in a pottery shop. Wolves gathered around them, torch at the ready. The peafowl and dog up ahead stopped short. Horror dawned on them instantly.

The Wolf Boss landed in the street a few meters in front of Teegan, raising his paws and giving his knuckles a loud, pointed crack. She glared back, wordless, as the other wolves shifted their torches ever-so-closer to the canons.

The Wolf shot Teegan a slimy grin. "Three... _two..."_

...


	10. Chapter 10

_I'm getting pretty busy, so updates will slow down. I'll try to keep it at a week but I can't promise anything. This is meant to be for fun, so If I really don't feel like writing I won't. Updates will come, guaranteed. Hope you enjoy this chapter, thanks for reading, and review if you have time :)_

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Chapter 10

Countdown to Chaos

They couldn't dodge. They could go up. They couldn't go left, or right, or in any other plausible direction. The Wolf Boss's slimy grin making her blood boil, Teegan made no move to stop Qiánxíng when she opened her beak, her lean face clearly slipping into mass panic as she was about to yell that they surrendered –

"One _."_

The eardrum shattering blasts came from all around. The canine warrior's jaw fell open in horror as the spitting; spinning balls of fire came tearing right at them. She could feel the heat singe her fur, her skin –

"GET DOWN!"

She threw her paws on each of the peahens' shoulders and forced them down without a moment's delay. The Five fell to their stomachs and the searing hot metal soared over their backs. On either side of them the wolves gave an excessive, collective bark and ducked out of the wall. The cannon balls had zigzagged right towards the other canons; one actually managed to strike its fellow, but not the wolves. Mores the pity.

A loud 'whoosh' sound interrupted the chaotic yapping and crashing around them. Some of the wolves had got it into their thick skulls that re-loading would be a good idea. Tigress was on her feet again, dragging Teegan up with her – Lord Zhou still hung over her back like a pelt from a rather colourful hunt – when Lord Shen slid out from the smoke and kicked the Wolf Boss square in the jaw. The mutt swayed back, hitting the floor without even a hope of keeping himself upright. "You _imbecile!"_

The group got to their feet, ignoring the strong sense of déjà vu.

Tigress's knees bent; her body assumed a typical Kung Fu stance – but an audible clink on either side of her told her, plainly, that she wasn't going anywhere. Some of the wolves had gotten those Gods damned cannons reloaded – others opted to simply drawing back their arrows and lifting their clubs. Qiánxíng was still on her knees, covered in a neat lair of dust. She gave a small inward cough, but said nothing.

"..." Tigress exchanged a single glance with Viper. There was no way out of this, not without some kind of miracle. Tigress was beyond miracles. They'd stopped being a figment of her hope a good two decades ago.

Mantis heaved himself onto her shoulder; a small flame still lingering on the tip of his head. Monkey, on the other hand, looked ready to go despite the cloud of smoke still surrounding the street. Crane, not so much – he looked pale beneath his feathers and his injured wing was tucked awkwardly into his side. Viper had a wavering expression that Tigress didn't like. They were warriors. They weren't supposed to be this disorganised, this taken back – but these _weapons..._

Shen was barking something at the Wolf Boss; Tigress didn't listen. There had to be a way out; some kind of opening. Her bright eyes surveyed their surroundings, but it was pretty tightly packed.

Had to be.

Shen didn't know what was denser. The cannon ball, canons, or his lieutenant. He quite clearly remembered stated he needed the three other peafowl alive – at least the girl. The sharp-faced woman and the literal deadweight he could perhaps have got by without. The Five were to be slaughter, no question, the dog as well – but here he'd found the Wolf, almost blowing all of them sky high. It would have been so much easier if he'd waited a few more seconds for the separated groups to move along; they could have allowed the peafowl to slink through, _then_ spring the trap on the approaching Kung Fu Masters.

The Wolf Boss lay at his sharp burnt feet, nursing his aching jaw. "That's the second time I've had to harm you for your stupidity, don't force out a third!" And it was then, only then, that he turned to address the glaring group. They looked incredibly shabby – he dare say he was ashamed to have them as 'worthy' opponents. Their eyes bore into him from beneath several coats of soot, but being a peacock of many decades, he'd grown a thick second skin to deal with those kinds of expressions.

The small peahen, recognisable by those big, bony, bloodshot eyes of hers, gave a small noise that was too pathetic to be deemed a cough.

"Did you honestly think you'd escape a city overrun by wolves?" Shen remarked scathingly, unable to keep a small smirk off his face. The warriors glared back with clear venom. The girl rubbed her face; doing nothing to rid it of any soot.

"...I take it you missed us already?"

It was a perfectly plain little remark. The girl looked like she regretted already, however. Shen sent the brat a sour glare, making it clear he wasn't amused.

"Drag the girl and that woman away. Kill the rest." He ordered curtly. The girl's already too-large eyes broadened. Madam Sharp-Face blinked once, glanced at her limp brother (Lord Zhou definitely wasn't looking his best) and scowled.

"I don't think so."

Shen didn't even bother to smirk back. "I don't care."

The wolves advanced, paws out. Julan and Qiánxíng stepped back; knocking against the Masters. Mantis leaped aside to avoid Qiánxíng's foot. The peahen was frowning; more indignant than afraid. "Excuse you."

Something landed in the midst of the crowd with a small tap. All heads turned as three wrapped – up balls landed around the Five and the trio of peafowl. The bundles lay there, harmless, for a second. Until Viper noticed the conspicuous sparks travelling up a string around each of them. Her eyes bulged, "LOOK –"

They exploded. But instead of searing flesh and burning fur, the bundles burst into a shower of colourful smoke. The smell of it stung their eyes, clogged up their starved lungs – even Tigress shuddered at the effect. She cursed herself for not seeing such an obvious attack coming. But then, two figures came sprinting through the cloud of smog; fabric wrapped around their noses and mouths to protect them from the fume.

Ox and Croc.

Ox seized hold of the peafowl in his powerful arms; Croc waved his arm at the Masters, snatching up Crane as he went, "This way! The wolves' noses are especially sensitive – this will hurt them bad!"

Shen forced out a cough and cuffed the Wolf Boss about the head, nearly missing. He could barely see a thing. It was just one thing after the other, wasn't it? "Get them, for Pete's sake!"

"Sir, my nose –" The Wolf gave a body-wracking wheeze, "It hurts –"

Shen rolled his eyes and 'elbowed' him out of the way; his wing only able to do so because he was that angry. With a sharp turn he swung his train in front of him, casting away at least _some_ of the smoke – but it didn't little to clear his vision. But he saw what he already assumed – they'd gone. Someone must have come to their rescue. He scowled deeply, and exhaled slowly. This wasn't over. They'd escaped, perhaps gotten a good head start – China may be vast, but in this new age, it was hard to _hide_.

"We'll return to the Palace for now." He uttered slowly, turning away. He was fully aware his lieutenant was watching him in growing unease, probably afraid he'd been about to snap at him again – but Shen felt an odd sense of calm. Recapturing the three so-called 'Lord and Ladies' would be impossible with the Furious Five around. But such esteemed warriors wouldn't babysit them forever.

He'd waited thirty years. He could extend his patience yet.

...

Julan hadn't a clue how they'd managed it, or what possessed them to change their minds. Of course, this didn't count as 'fighting back' really. They hadn't struck out against Shen at all. They'd simply...left. And left they had.

Going back the way they'd come into the city was out of the question. They went by their last plan; go by boat out of the harbour nearer the Palace. It must have been a nice view, once, to stare out of the palace balconies to the glittering water, but in this reddening sunset the effect was...vacant. Julan glanced back at Gongmen. It city was disappearing behind them; the boat – a fisher's vessel by the looks of it – was moving at a steady but speedy pace. Finally, after hours of anxiety, they could relax. She glanced at Masters Ox and Croc. They were both leaning against the mast; perhaps Ox worried that standing on one side of the boat would lead to it tipping. Julan forced down a smile at the thought. They stared at her every now and again. Did they blame her? Even a little? She did, even though she wasn't sure what she was blaming herself for.

They'd sailed in silence. Teegan beside her. Qiánxíng was sat moodily by her brother; showing sisterly concern by weeping and moping clearly wasn't her feat. Viper checked on him every now and again, and Julan – she had to admit, she didn't expect such kindness from a snake. Or a Kung Fu warrior one. She felt a jab of guilt at that. Lord Zhou was alive. To say he looked terrible would be an understatement; he was limp; his colourful train lay across the deck like an aged rolled carpet. His chest rose and fell heavily now; he was running a fever like a marathon. Tigress was pacing slowly around the boat, ignoring them all, as the Mantis, Monkey and Crane sat around. (Well the Monkey was hanging upside down from the sail, but he was just as listless as any of them.)

Finally, the injured Crane guy spoke up. "...We were no match for those things. If we can't stop those weapons, China's as good as conquered."

"Not yet. Even the greatest beasts fall when you cut off the head." Tigress retorted. Ox shot her a sour look. Clearly, being pressured into saving them – as it seemed he had – had left him in a bad mood. Julan looked away with a frown. If he had his way, she was sure he'd have stayed in that prison cell.

But the tiger was right. Lord Shen worked alone, Julan realised. No alleys but the wolves. "He's just one player with a whole load of toys."

They all stared at her; even the Croc, who hadn't said much up till now. She looked down at her feet. "Um."

"Exactly." Tigress said before anyone else had the chance to open their mouths. Julan blinked. Had she been seeing things, or was that a ghost of a smile? Whatever it was, the feline warrior had turned away before she could get a good enough glimpse.

"So. What's your grand plan now?" Ox drawled as the tiger passed him by. She shot him a stubborn glare.

"We sent out a warning to nearby provinces, valleys, cities. Get the word out. Shen needs to lose the element of surprise he has with his cannons."

"We're gonna be writing letters?" Qiánxíng sneered. Teegan snickered, pointedly ignoring a certain striped cat's fierce glare.

"That isn't all." Tigress went on slowly, leaning against the wooden railing. "We'll get you somewhere safe and out of the way and then we're going back."

"You're friends butchered and you're covered in soot." Qiánxíng retorted. Crane cringed at being used as her pawn in argument, but didn't dare cut her off, "And we can't return to our stronghold, especially –"

Both her and Julan's eyes snapped open, wider than the others had ever thought possible. "..."

Julan felt cold, very cold. Her chest constricted and she found it difficult to force out her next words.

"My brother's still at home."

...

"I thought you were a bit too old to be playing around in the dirt."

"Shut up, Soothsayer!"

Shen strode by with all the venom of a kicked cat. He knew what he looked like; silvery robes covered in soot and grime. He'd never been so filthy, even during his experiments with fireworks. He'd kicked a few of the guards on his way here just for the sake of it. Probably a bit much, but what was the point of them if they couldn't track down a bunch of ruffians. Especially when one was close to dead and various members of their gang were injured. He moved to the living quarters, ignoring the smirking goat at the end of the hall.

She watched him slid through the door and snap it shut. Then, she hobbled away back to the throne room, shaking her heavy head. She knew nothing would come of it. Sitting down on her mat, she lifted one of her bowls and began swishing around various herbs. A small, fresh-smelling smoke rose gently off the ashes.

Footsteps. A grumble. A sideways glance alerted her of the Wolf Boss; striding by, looking more ragged than usual. His single eyes were narrowed, back bent; a paw rubbing at the ears. He was muttering to himself and moving across the otherwise empty throne room, clearly under the impression that he was alone.

"You seem troubled."

The Wolf whirled around, eye wide- but his muzzle flopped back into a scowl when he saw the beaming Soothsayer. "None of your business, Lady."

"Nothing has gone to plan lately, has it?" She remarked lightly, turning her gaze away. The wolf didn't appreciate the mystic tilt of her chin; he wasn't one to believe in destiny, fate and premonitions. He just followed orders, took out targets, led the clan.

Her smile curled. He pointed a clawed finger, "And you better not say anything about the woman!"

"What woman?" The goat crooned. The Wolf Boss snarled, turning away.

"Nothing. I don't want any of that dumb witch stuff going into my brain."

The Soothsayer was smirking now. Openly smirking. "I suppose it is up to you, whether or not you wish to see _your_ future. "

The Wolf Boss kept his back to her. No. No way. She was playing him. This was a trick.

But she couldn't lie, could she...?

...

"Brother." Tigress echoed bluntly. Julan glanced left and right, uneasy, then gave a stiff nod. Qiánxíng gave an exaggerated roll of the eyes.

"I'd rather we didn't pry into personal matters."

"You sent that letter informing us of _two_ children." Ox folded his arms slowly across his thick chest. "So we were expecting that. Why didn't you bring the boy as well?"

Qiánxíng gave a snide, bitter smile. "Oh, playing it safe."

"Couldn't bring all the goods to trade all at once." Croc commented with an oddly dark note. Qiánxíng's smile faded into a sneer.

"What are you implying?"

"We knew from the start that you wanted to use the children as bargaining pins." Ox returned stiffly, his nose flaring a little. He didn't lose his temper just yet, however. "No matter how flowery your messenger made the writing."

Qiánxíng scoffed, "You act like we're the only House in the world who uses their family connections for aid. We're in destitute thanks to that white _nut ball_ back there."

"So why the heck is that guy trying – get rid- of his own kids?" Mantis piped up, lounging on a barrel at the other end of the boat. The conversing three frowned at him. He shrugged; legs folding. "Just sayin'."

Julan was staring at her skinny feet. Teegan, her unmasked face blank, glanced down at her. It didn't go unnoticed by Tigress either, but she said nothing.

"So if he saw the letter, he'll know about my brother." Julan's head flew up. The group stared at her, the revelation slowly dawning on them all. Qiánxíng stood up.

"We need to send a message to our home – get them to move the boy."

"We should get him ourselves just to be safe, don't you..." Crane saw Tigress's eyes borrowing into the side of his head and his sentence trailed away from his tongue. "Uh..."

"We'll get to that when we get to land." Tigress said, raising both arms to quell the argument. "Right now, we need to rest, and to heal."

"Didn't expect that from you." Teegan muttered, scratching the side of her lean face. Tigress ignored her. Julan turned away; leaning her wings on the railing. Waves of nausea accompanied the waves splashing gently at the wood. Her brother had no idea. No protection. Shen could waltz through the door if he wanted to.

But they had time. _He wouldn't have sent anyone after him yet. He thought he was coming WITH us. We have time. They have time, I mean. He's probably distracted now...he wants to take over China but he might focus on US in the meantime._

Huh. Her life being in danger was actually an opportunity to save China. The world was a funny place...


	11. Chapter 11

_I said I'd keep it to a week, but I went two days over. I apologize for that, guys, but I've suddenly become busier and I was scared I was losing interest. I still want to do this fic, for sure, but I think I started it wrong. I realize now I should have executed it a different way, but oh well. It also turned out far more lighthearted than I wanted it to be; guess I'm just not good at setting a darker tone, even with Rhino's death aftermath being the intro. I've written small things elsewhere and I've always excelled at 'light hearted humour' and drama, rather than angst and drama. That is, I love drama and angst but I'm not the best at it._

 _So I'll be taking my time, not forcing out chapters. I will be continuing, but I'm warning of slower updates now because I have no idea how much time I'll have to spend on each. I'll said I'd try to keep it at a week, but weeks speed by for me - I'll try, but I can't make promises._

 _Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy :)_

* * *

Chapter 11

A Whole New Meaning of 'Sail'

...

Why was he doing this?

His mind, that had a mind of its own apparently, didn't offer any sort of answers. It wouldn't make a difference to the fact he was knelt in front of the Soothsayer; a single eye wide and uncertain, a pinch of his hair and clothing in a bowl while his employer tried to rid his white feathers of black soot. He didn't know what was more improbably; Shen accomplishing that, or him every finding out what possessed him to do this. He scowled, the only thing he could do, as the Soothsayer took the bowl into her hooves and gave the contents a little whirl.

His scowl deepened. Shen wouldn't mind too much if he clawed her dumb horns a little, would he? "Lady, if –"

 _Blast._

It happened that quickly that the canine inhaled some of the smoke. He gripped his knees, eyes burning, to keep himself from hacking. He wouldn't stand for that humiliation. He half expected the ominous pale smoke he usually saw from her bowls – Shen had been replaying his prophecy like a bad children's puppet show – but instead a deep grey smoke rose up; littered with sparks. The glitter-like texture the only thing differentiating it from well, normal looking smoke.

"I see..." The Soothsayer sounded like someone who had just been proven right; a chirpy note to her voice. The Wolf's insides bristled. Great.

"What?" He snapped. However, the goat's smug smile faded a tad. She stroked a hoof down her beard (how odd it was to acknowledge that) watching as the shapes in the smoke – shapes he couldn't make out for the life of him – turned a deep purple.

They moved, shifted. Sometimes he thought he saw a figure moving; or heard the snapping of jaws. That part made something in him stir. He wasn't afraid, just...unnerved. He hadn't expected sounds to emerge from the smoke like that. Smoke shows were a performance any old codger could pull...

The purple turned red, and then back to grey. Then it began to move apart. Splitting down the middle into two blurry lines.

The Wolf looked away from it.

"You will come to two roads."

The Soothsayer placed the bowl down as the smoke dispersed. Her tone was bland, hard. The Wolf stared back defiantly. "You have two paths; you will take one depending on a choice you will make."

"So there's a big choice or somethin' up ahead?" The Wolf Boss returned lowly. "How big?"

"Big." The Soothsayer replied in a blunt and finale tone. "One that will most certain affect your clan's future."

It took everything in his willpower not to show his surprise or alarm. "So...you're not gonna tell me what the choice is, are you?"

"You will know it when it comes to you." She returned lightly.

 _Slink._

The Wolf Boss turned his head in a swift, stiff movement. Shen was standing a few yards behind him, eyes like slits, and his gaze positively burning into the side of his skull. The Soothsayer cocked a brow.

"I hope this _choice_ of yours is one that takes everything I've done for you into account." Shen noted, sweeping past the wolf. Said canine quickly got onto his feet; his foot narrowly missed plunging into the ash-filled bowl.

" 'Course." The Wolf Boss replied, his tone even. "Don't worry, sir."

"Hmph. So nothing in that confounded bowl of yours is going to help me find the other child, is it?" Shen turned to the Soothsayer, wings tucked together per usual. The Soothsayer lifted her head; lip curling downward in a near scornful look.

"Fortune telling is not navigation, Shen."

Shen scoffed loudly, turning away with an overzealous sweep of the tail. "They're probably huddled back at what's left of their Stronghold." Mountains, narrow roads and whatnot – his canons weren't ready for that kind of travel. It would take weeks, if not months, to reach the place with just _one_. And by the time they got there, the brat would have been moved. No. That wasn't the _intelligent_ route.

"Lord Shen!"

One of the Gorillas poised by the balcony door was peering around at him. Shen scowled, "What?"

"Wu Ya is here!"

The peacock arched a brow and strode past several pillars; head cocking to the side so he may get a glimpse of the aforementioned visitor before he even got there. At the mention of the person in question's name, the Wolf Boss had stiffened and grumbled something under his breath. A crow, with glossy, greying feathers and a path over his eye – the opposite from the eye said wolf was missing – was perched on the railing of the balcony.

There was an air of aloofness about him; a lofty, unreadable aura. The Wolf Boss would have said it meant he was as empty and hollow as one of those glass dolls from the market, especially around the head. The Crow's functioning eye scrutinised the whole Throne Room, he glared one at the canine as his gaze passed over him. He didn't take the time to glare at him properly. His beak tipped upward as Shen approached.

The white peacock shifted into a more professional stance as he came face to face with the smaller avian.

"You've taken your time." Shen half-sneered. The Crow bowed low and stiff.

"Forgive me, Master. Something caught my attention on the flight here. I thought you would like me to investigate."

Shen felt a smirk coming on. Had fate decided to fold its cards? "What do you mean?"

"A small ship carrying several woebegone misfits. Three peafowl, several warrior-looking creatures." The Crow had the faintest of smiles upon his blackened beak. "Any chance they are the ones you are looking for?"

...

It seemed that the elder peahen had plundered the small ship's supply already. Tigress found her at the edge of the boat; just behind the bow. She was sat with several rolls of parchment; an ink bottle and a brush, jotting down characters in a stiff, slimy manner. As Tigress drew near to the sharp-faced female (who had somehow managed to completely clear the soot from her feathers) she straightened up.

"Considering the fact your Crane is out of commission, we'll have to make do with a different messenger. We'll have to find one when we get to the shore."

"We'll send you back to the Valley of Peace and send others to bring the boy." Tigress returned curtly. That way, these so called Lords and Ladies would be out their way and safely tucked in the sidelines while they dealt with Shen. It was sounding like a better idea with each passing second. Qiánxíng pulled something out of her robes; flipped it open and began dabbing her eyes with something. A pale, innocent shade of pink. Tigress didn't know what made her nose wrinkle; that or the powdery smell.

"So what happened with Shen and the girl's mother?" Tigress inquired lowly. Qiánxíng eyed her before giving a sideways smirk.

"Not all of us can be empty little Kung Fu Puppets." Tigress's eyes gave a dangerous flash. Qiánxíng wasn't stupid; she obviously saw it, but continued none the less, "Women in my simple cousin's position need you use what they have to get what they want. Or rather, what they need. She started out smart but her finishing move almost ended us. She bit off more than she could chew."

"Only corrupt nobles could make having a child sound like an underhanded scheme." Tigress drawled. Ox and Croc hitched their heads just a bit. Qiánxíng scowled.

"The girl's mother made her bed, if you know what I mean." She grinned lowly and Tigress' scowl deepened. "Now everyone is paying for it, a little. Maybe Shen would have been a bit lenient on other people if his ego hadn't been blown apart so easily."

"Stop beating around the bush."

"I thought Kung Fu Morons loved riddles."

"I think we should focus on what's ahead."

The third voice came from the right. Teegan was lounging against the rigging hanging between the mast and the side of the little ship; arms twining around each other. Her narrow face was set in a scowl. "We should be planning how we're gonna lay low after this, and how we're gonna stop Shen."

" _We_ are going to stop Shen." Tigress retorted, "You are going to take your...Lord and Lady, and go into hiding."

"Dragon Warrior or not," Teegan strode forward, near nose to nose with her, "You botched this."

Tigress said nothing; brow creased as far as it could go.

"The weapon killed Rhino."

Both female warriors turned their heads. Croc had spoken; peering around the Ox like the eavesdropper he was. "None could expect the viciousness that weapon held. It took skill to keep all of her team alive."

Tigress's brow loosened; surprise slipping across her face. It was short lived. "...Exactly."

"Alive, but not uninjured. Your bird, like Qiánxíng said, is too injured right now." Teegan placed her paws on her hips. "I'd like to fill in."

"You're no kung fu warrior." Tigress shot back. There was no way on this earth that would be happening. Tearing her own fur off sounded like a better idea. "You're just a thug for hire."

Teegan merely grinned. "I know. But sometimes differences can make you stronger, no? Isn't there a mythical turtle proverb like that or something?"

Was laughing at your own culture a thing among mercenaries?

Tigress was about to answer when something _whistled_ through the air.

...

Julan was huddled at the back of the small sailing ship; looking like she was attempting to make herself as small as possible. The air was strangely cold for a summer's night; the various little candles lit around the ship being of just as little help. Every now and again, she was aware of the Ox and Croc glancing her way. She did everything she could to remain staring at the wood, trying not to let on that she noticed.

She could see Qiánxíng and the Tiger Woman talking. Plotting, probably. The tiger wanted to wash her hands of them – Julan couldn't blame her – Qiánxíng was going to make sure 'they' had a say in what happened next.

Curled beside the injured Crane Master, Lord Zhou shifted. He looked decidedly better. A little. He wasn't quivering like a leaf at least. Everyone else was silent; without the boar guards their group felt horribly naked. Julan's stomach churned and her brow creased. Thinking about them made her feel ill. How quickly had they all died?

"This isn't your fault, you know."

A soft, light voice slid by her. Julan looked down. Settled upon a barrel beside her was the snake woman; her face adorned with the softest of smiles. Julan gave a slow and uncertain blink.

"...Sometimes intent isn't an excuse." The teen peahen mumbled. When Viper gave an inquisitive turn of the head, she glanced away. "I mean – just because I didn't actually want it or do much, doesn't mean it isn't my fault."

"That's...a strange logic." Viper gave a half-laugh, though her humour was limited. She sent a small, subtle look towards Qiánxíng and Tigress; their backs facing the rest of the group. Monkey, hanging from the mast, was watching them with his long limbs tucked behind his head. Even he looked strangely listless tonight.

"Strange logic, story of my life." Julan muttered, an unusual bitterness passing her face. "I'm used to being blamed for things I didn't mean. Things I didn't know actually happened beforehand. I'm still not sure what... _beef_ Lord Shen has."

"From what I'm heard, he's a little..." Viper paused, searching for the right word –

"Completely nuts." Mantis appeared on the other side of Julan's 'hide away from the others' spot, a deadpan expression polluting his small mug. Viper gave him a pointed look, but Julan's beak curled in a barely hidden grin.

"So you really have no idea why he's doing this?" Viper inquired slowly, as if worried her mere words would puncture the girl's scraggly skin. Julan looked down.

A murky feeling entered her stomach and chest like crept up her throat. _The very thing that you clearly do not know..._

"No. But there's a reason. I guess. I think my moth –"

Sprinkles of water fell upon her beak. For a peaceful little moment Julan assumed it was rain. Then the wave of water threw her, Viper and Mantis away from their little huddle and across the ship. They collided against Ox's knees and nearly tipped the large man over, and it the only reason he didn't crush all three of them was because Croc managed to catch hold of his elbow and pull him back.

Another ship was tailing them; breaking over the waves like a knife along bread. Bigger, sharper – even the sail looked jagged with a reddened cloth. Tigress, Monkey and Teegan were at the back of the ship in moments. Monkey swooped back and scaled the mast; hands to his eyes.

He stared. He looked down, "Wolves!"

Another crunching splash hit the water directly beside their little ship. The boat tipped ominously, but didn't go too far.

Monkey whistled through his teeth, "Oh, and canons, too. Should have mentioned that."

"Monkey." Tigress growled through her teeth. She moved back to Ox and Croc in a few sweeping strides. "We can't counter this. Croc, can you take out some of the shooters?" Croc rose a brow her way, perhaps irked at being ordered around by a lesser experienced Master.

"I will, but it will be a while before I reach their ship."

"They keep missing." Julan quipped. Qiánxíng stood, sodden wet, her make-up un-smudged (much to Tigress' disappointment.) She glared back at the attacking ship with more venom than a viper.

The actual Viper had, of course, slunk back to the two injured birds huddled in the middle of the deck. Crane raised his head, looking strangely unfocused. "Uuh...guys...I think we should steer the boat another way." He warbled, before his beak flopped like a stiff noodle to his chest.

"Another canon ball hit the water; grazing the side of the boat, but again, not damaging it enough to sink it.

"Maybe they're just working out the kinks." Teegan shrugged. The Wolves' ship was too far to see much from here, but the little blurs of black didn't look _too_ disorganised.

"No. I think Shen wants the girl alive, for now." Tigress said. Julan's body gave a little twitch that wasn't enough to be deemed a 'flinch'.

"He needs to stick to his plans more often." The girl mumbled. Tigress shot her a look.

"Plans always evolve. As must ours."

"You should have just left me." The girl's mumble was even lower. Tigress's creased brow loosened just a little; something Qiánxíng saw. Her eyes narrowed.

"Ha. And draw your brother right into the white menace's claws? Good plan, runt." She strode by, knocking against both the girl and the Tiger. No more cannon balls were hailing down on them. The Wolf Ship was getting closer.

Croc was gone. Julan didn't blame him; he must have been tired of all the bickering. She should have felt more panicked, but it was hard – none of the Kung Fu Warriors were running around in terror. Maybe that was why.

A howl carried across the wind. All heads turned. A blur of green had leaped onto the ship miles behind them and was darting through the black blurs like a bolt of lightning.

Mantis hopped onto a barrel, and thus, into view. "Huh. Guess I know what I look during a fight now."

Julan couldn't stop herself from grinning. Panicking seemed impossible now.


	12. Chapter 12

_All right, week's update, but I've been warning lately of needing to slow down. One: I don't want to force this out; I'm kinda getting the feel of the story but I'm not so sure. Two - Christmas season. I'll not be able to work on this for a long while, I'll try, but I can't promise anything. I'll probably not get the next chapter out in a week, or even two. I apologise for that; I figured that since the first few chapters came out 3-4 days in between you'd be expecting it, but I just can't keep that up. I need a break, and time to focus on Holidays._

 _Thanks for reading, please review, hope you enjoy :)_

* * *

Chapter 12:

White and Peach

 _Despite all he'd said to the Soothsayer, he remembered Feng Wei a great deal. It would be poetic to showcase their first meeting as a romantic one; an ominously and blissful beginning to a tragic tale. He wouldn't have described it as any love story worth telling; or a tragedy. The ending didn't leave him in tears; it was the only part of the story that gave him pleasure to remember._

 _It was almost twenty years ago. The first decade after leaving home felt the longest; China seemed far vaster, near agoraphobic, during those years. The years that he'd shed what was left of his youth and became a man._

 _Already he'd been planning. He'd been planning before he'd even left the safety and comfort of the Palace; and he began instantly. China, as he said, was very large – abandoned strongholds and factories were scattered throughout the country like forgotten fly corpses in a web. When he'd been stripped of everything, he'd settled for whatever scraps he could find._

 _The first stronghold had been claimed by a rather mangy assortment of bandits. He recalled that memory quite well, strange as it is. He remembered cutting away the wooden stile blocking the door with his own talons; standing there, the red sunlight flanking him, as his wolves dove into the dwelling without hesitation. He remembered the panic wash over the bandit's faces like a wave, and he'd taken the place within the hour. The bodies had been piled up and burnt._

 _A conquest without the backing of a Palace, a title, just him and the loyal wolves. It had been a small victory, but it was then, when he was watching the pyre of the bandits' burn, the speck of flame blanching against the black night that he realised how conquerors worked._

 _Little by little, claiming piece by piece. That stronghold, within the mountains, was the first. The next was a factory in the valley; then some farms nearby. They hadn't remained farms for very long after his claiming. Those who fought were dealt with. He kept to himself, kept his workings quiet. Anyone who ventured too near or grew too curious joined the furnace in lighting the Metal Works._

 _Ten years in, he'd made himself a cosy little enterprise; hidden from public view, small enough to be ignored. It that year he met Feng Wei._

 _He remembered it. She hadn't been happy to meet him at first._

 _..._

Croc's legs whipped out in a perfect split; striking true upon the noses of the wolves attending the canon. They fell in perfect unison; it was almost akin to a theatre performance. The second the two unconscious canines hit the ground was the same second the reptile dove between another pair; a twirl of his tail whipped them off their feet.

A strangled 'whining' noise tore through the air and Croc intercepted the impression that he'd stood on one of their tails. With a turn of his long head, however, he spotted one of the disorientated mongrels had staggered to the canon and was holding the torch over the lighter. A single spark flew from the powder and Croc's reptilian eyes bulged.

"You –"

 _BLAST._

A near maddening ring screech in the crocodile's eardrums. The wolf didn't appear all that bothered; Wolves had good hearing – perhaps, he mused, they'd grown accustomed to having their hearing blasted into infinity after manufacturing these things for so many years. His jaw set, Croc struck the wolf on the back of the neck and let him fall to the ship deck with an unceremonious whack. The Wolf ship was deserted.

...That sounded interested. Croc's eyes narrowed and for the first time in weeks, a genuine smile curled on his snout.

But one ship? It seemed too easy; far too easy. A few canons could have fit on this vessel alone; but alas there was but a single weapon of death. Yet he didn't smell a trap. He wondered if even Shen knew what the plan was at this point; he didn't seem 'all there' during their last meeting.

 _Part of you way over there,_ _ **staining the wall.**_

Something in him surged.

He raised his arm to give the ship ahead a wave. He'd deal with the anger later.

...

The boat suffered another violent jerk. Lord Zhou's eyes cracked open, and he gazed blearily up at the sky in sleepy bewilderment. Then he gave a noise that the other occupants of the boat couldn't quite name and bolted upright.

"What –"

"Nice of you to join us, Sunshine." Qiánxíng didn't look abundantly happy to see him. She side-stepped, trying to hide the wobble in her gait as the boat gave another jostle. "And here I was sure you'd bled out."

"You still have a fever." Viper coined. She was settled at his side, expertly keeping her voice even and soothing even when their ship was threatening to capsize. It seemed one of the wolves had gotten incredibly lucky and had managed to fire at them during Croc assault on his fellows. But now the battlefield had gone...deathly quiet. Tigress, a suspicious glare ever present, strode to the back of the ship and squinted at the other vessel tailing them. She saw a green arm wave once.

"Croc's dealt with them." Ox remarked. He didn't sound all that surprised.

"Why doesn't he just swim back over?" Mantis inquired, scratching at the top of his head. Lord Zhou, his legs almost convulsing with effort, was leant against the railing and trying to drag himself upright. Fever clearly wracked his body yet.

"...Wait. I think I get understand." Tigress kicked off the anchor. Zhou shot her a scandalized look worthy of a reward.

"What are you doing?"

"Two ships are just what we need." The feline retorted, barely looking at the half-dead Lord. Julan leaned past Teegan's folded-arm frame and blinked.

"Hey...if we have a ship that looks like it belongs to Shen's wolves...then we can sneak back –"

"We?" Tigress almost – _almost –_ looked amused. "Nice try."

If Julan had tried to stop herself from scowling, she'd failed. "I don't want to just – let him find my brother."

"Then don't give him leverage. You have no fighting skills, do you?" Tigress didn't even wait for an answer; she turned to Teegan with a stiff turn.

"You'll take our current ship, Crane, and get to land. Ox and Croc will go with you – I doubt they want to face Shen again."

Ox threw her a very cold frown. "You know why. You are being reckless, _Dragon Warrior._ You may be the best out of the Five, but I'm beginning to think Oogway was being too hasty."

A dangerously subdue spark went off in the feline's pupils. "You're questioning Master Oogway?"

Teegan cleared her throat rudely. The two Masters sent the mercenary equally disapproving looks. She smirked widely, "I don't get involved in lover's spats, but could we hurry this along? Your reptile almost has the other boat here. Ox can take my Lord and Lady back to you and yours, and I'll tag along with you to replace the Crane."

Tigress looked as welcoming as a cactus. "Your skills are too crude to work in proper formation."

"Traditional Kung Fu ain't gonna help here, Sweat Pea." Teegan tilted her head, revelling in Tigress's affronted look. "You need to fight scum with scum, don't you? Let me take on the Wolf Boss."

Now Tigress's lip twitched upward. "So. Revenge."

"Is it really so difficult to fathom? Let's go, before Shen sends anymore goons." Teegan sauntered to the other ship; now hovering side-by-side with theirs. Monkey swung on board first and began bundling unconscious wolves under the sheet previously used to shelter the canon.

He edged away from said weapon almost anxiously. "Tigress, sometimes the streetwise are needed." He would know, wouldn't he? Tigress exhaled slowly.

"Fine."

Julan's face fell. She glanced between Teegan and Ox; watching the departing dog's back with growing anxiety. Clearly she was trying to keep herself quiet – but failed.

"Wait – Teegan, you can't just leave us –"

"You'll be fine." Teegan called, but Tigress noted that her voice sounded far less snappy.

Julan scowled and muttered something under her breath. Something around the lines of 'I don't mean me being fine'."

Teegan sent back an encouraging smirk and hopped onto the newly gagged and tied-up wolves' ship. Julan looked down at her feet. Viper, now on the boat with her, Monkey and Mantis, glanced at Tigress.

The feline sighed and looked down at Julan. "I'll make sure she gets back to you. No-one else is going to die by Shen's hands."

Julan's frown cleared. "...Thanks."

Tigress, deep down, was grateful for her curt reply. She stepped onto the red-sailed ship and sent a short nod to Ox. Lord Zhou and Qiánxíng hadn't said much during the exchange; Zhou looked bewildered as always and his sister didn't look pleased by Julan...saying anything of consequence. She shot Tigress a snide, unkindly look. The feline didn't grace her with a response, and instead waltzed into the middle of the new deck.

She didn't look back at the trio of peafowl until their ship was bobbing meters away in the other direction. Crane, bundled up by the mast, was staring back at her. Tigress gave another, more pronounced nod. He couldn't help them in the state he was.

Something nudged her. "So, Dragon Mittens. Why'd they choose you?"

Tigress' nose wrinkled. "I was the most skilled."

Teegan lifted her chin, "Like Ox said – out of five. Why did some turtle get to choose?"

"Ooogway is wiser than us all. I wouldn't expect some thug to know about it."

She'd doused her words in finality, to signal an end to this conversation, but alas the canine woman wasn't done talking. "So what's your plan here, Mittens?"

Tigress eyed her sharply. "We find take down the factories. Shen's army is a great beast, in a way – we can't strike the head, so we must bring him to his knees first."

"So basically we take out whatever's making the nasty weapons." Teegan clicked her tongue against the side of her teeth, "Super."

...

 _His memories of her weren't as in tact as the events surrounding her. He remembered the bare bones; the vital details in significant order; each subtle and deceiving action she displayed to dig herself into his mind and tear away. She had, of course, but she didn't get the response she wanted. He wasn't weak. But the actual interactions..._ _ **they**_ _were in shambles. Shen recalled shards; a smooth feathered hand upon his cheek; the soft brush of warmth; early morning sunlight peaking through paper-like doors behind her when she turned her head with a tired smile. A laugh. He roll of her marble eyes. A barely seen smirk._

 _She'd been clever, but not clever enough. Stupidity, ignorance – Wise Masters drone on about the deadliness of it. But in politics, in Nobility, in Leadership – being clever but not clever enough was far more precarious. You could climb the ladder but fall mid-way; too far from the top to make a last ditch attempt for success, high enough up for the fall to hurt._

 _Shen remembered the smell of incense; a cold breeze clashing with the warmth of her side against his, a soft sigh here and there._

 _He remembered some things clearer than others; her scowl, he didn't. But a nervous ripple, the way her pupils crammed against the top of her eyes as she looked up at him, uneasy – he remembered_ _ **that.**_

 _The girl didn't_ _ **quite**_ _inherit her mother's looks. Feng Wei sported soft, peachy colours, nothing too remarkable. He'd give a huff of laughter at that; how he'd ever found her remotely beautiful._

 _He recalled the way those wide eyes of hers – of theirs – when she'd realised she'd lost. Burning, blanched – angry but terrified because the consequences where coming at her like knives...and there had been no hope for escape._

 _Shen would pay dearly to see that look again, and maybe he would._

...

"They've taken the first ship, My Lord." Wu Ya drawled; his chest feathers ruffling importantly. Shen arched a brow, "My crow scouts just arrived. Apparently the other peacock Lord is on his feet again."

"Hmph." Wonderful. Another air-head to be dealt with; Shen had hoped the fool was already ready for the casket by now. "What direction are they headed?" He waltzed past a table; a collective of scrolls and maps lying open and in wait. Wu Ya hopped to the tabletop to follow him; skulking across in his shadow.

"Back to the Valley of Peace, it seems. They changed direction to loop around the city."

"Excellent." Shen was smirking openly now. They were _nervous_ – they had to be, if they were sacrificing a more discreet route for time. On his own cue, it seemed, the Wolf Boss wandered into their midst. Shen didn't miss the look the two eye-patch wearing subordinates exchanged (now really; he knew for sure that when the populace told tales of his victory, they'd mentioned his two 'one eyed' henchmen in a _fairy tale_ manner) but chose to ignore it.

"The boys are ready, Sir." The Wolf said, running a tongue over his teeth as he glared viciously at the crow. Shen didn't approve of being spoken to without being faced. His look must have said enough – The canine glanced back at him and his right ear fell. "Uh, I mean, we're ready to move out."

"Do keep your squabbles out of my plans." Shen said lowly; and both one-eyed goons glanced away like scolded children. "Send out your wolves right away. Wu Yu will keep his scouts amidst the sky."

The Wolf clearly stifled a snort at hearing the name. Shen rolled his eyes, "Off with you both, then. Don't disappoint me." He didn't stay to watch them go; as they shuffled out he strode back the slightly higher circle of marble in the middle of the throne room. Soothsayer was standing, away from her mat, staring up at the imposing canon with a dark quizzical look. Shen slid by her.

"Admiring my work at last?"

"How many villages went hungry to feed this?" She asked, her voice slightly strained. Shen regarded her for a moment, trying to register what she meant. Then he came to him. Ah. The pots and pans; he hadn't quite told the wolves to 'plunder all kitchen utensils you may see' but he supposed they counted.

"They can eat without metal pots." He returned lowly. He didn't cease his smiling, however. "You have to admit, it is mildly amusing. I doubt their manufactures dreamed they would be used as for such a mighty purpose."

"It is good that they do not know what they have aided." The Soothsayer tilted her heavy head to one side, her tone even. Shen wasn't perturbed.

"Your opinions matter little now."

"Once they were the only ones you listened to." The Soothsayer murmured. Shen paused, mid-walk, his back to her. His smirk melded into a frown.

"Another youthful mistake."

"I see you have not sent for the other child. Have you rethought your course?" The Soothsayer's voice grew louder; as if changing the subject. Shen should have been gleeful with triumph at having the last word – but she'd never changed the subject like that before. His suspicious flared.

"They've probably been moved; and I have other ways of reeling them in." Shen drawled. He caught the faintest whiff of incense. He shot a quizzical look at a perfectly innocent tub of the stuff lying near the Soothsayer's mat.

"You must be enjoying your games, Soothsayer." He spoke so suddenly that the goat seemed caught off guard for once; albeit a small amount. She raised a scrutinising brow at him and he continued oily, "You warn me that these brats will kill me, then attempt to guilt-trip me into letting them live."

"I said defeat, Shen." She returned, almost softly. "And 'if you continue on your current path'. That is what I have always told you."

"Then why tell me in the first place?" He tilted his head, eyes narrowing, "Why not lie, if you appease my threat of removing all the servant's limbs?"

The Soothsayer's back was turned to him now. Shen strode off.

"You don't always have an answer, after all."

"We shall see, Shen."


	13. Chapter 13

_I wanted to get this chapter finished earlier so I could inform you guys of something. I've decided to take some time for the holidays, so the next update will...probably not be very soon. For the next three weeks or more, around family time, I want to focus on family stuff and whatnot. I'm hoping in january that the KUNG FU PANDA 3 MOVIE (squee) will help reinstate my motivation and Kung Fu Panda spirit. I'm still going to continue this. I'm flabbergasted by the support I got for this, which is why I'm sorry about having to give you all a wait._

 _I hope you guys understand. There's some scenes of this story I'm DYING to write, but they're not for a while yet. Other bits I groan at having to do, but that's writing. I can't just skip to the good stuff. So yeah, it'll go on, don't worry...just need to be Christmassy. I apologise to you guys again :( I mean, a guest said it was the best KFP fic they'd ever read. I'm incredibly flattered, dude, really XD_

 _Enjoy, and Please review. MERRY CHRISTMAS._

* * *

Chapter 13:

Fire Works You Know.

Julan had been having a strange dream. She dreamt she was wandering through a maze of halls; not large, imposing halls like the ones she'd passed in the Palace. No. She'd been in a cramped little hall like the ones back at her birthplace, _Shan Jian_ Stronghold. Then a whole road of shoji screen doors, left and right. She'd seen nothing on them at first. But then, link ink, pictures began staining the pale fawn walls in red, blotchy shapes. They grew bigger and bigger, until she heard something. At first she thought someone was calling. Then she thought that maybe it was a kind of...dinner belle. Coaxing her awake. Dizzily, she realised she was being tugged out of a funny dream.

Julan's eyes opened slowly. The soft trickling sound of water greeted her; the sound of the waves bobbing gently against the side of the small ship. She heard the un-synced breathed of her relatives and the Masters guarding them. Qiánxíng and Zhou were fast asleep some yards away from her; she was huddled by the bow like a mouse. She lifted her head. They'd had no torches lit, but the sky was clear tonight. The moon and stars lit up the water in a way that should have been pretty to see, but she couldn't douse that nagging feeling...

 _Something_ had awakened her.

A caw.

Julan turned her head. There was a large crow perched upon the bow, a single patch over his eye, the other narrowed and unblinking. He was so still that for a moment Julan was sure he was a decoration she hadn't noticed before. "...hello...?"

Wait. Eye-patch.

 _An eye-patch meant..._

"Don't expect any canons, Girl." The crow drawled. "There is none. No wolves, no _homicidal sires._ There is only me. _"_

Julan sat up slowly. She made no sound. The small peahen was used to being addressed as only 'Girl' for years now, but something about the way this crow said it rubbed her the wrong way. "...You work for Shen." It wasn't exactly a question.

The crow's beak morphed into a half-smirk. "You're more on point than he gives you credit for. I know a smart person when I see one, so let us act like it, hmm?"

"You want some kind of deal." Julan muttered. She shifted into a slightly straighter position, wings folded in front of her. "I've got nothing to offer. I doubt Shen will take anything less than my head on a pike."

"You're wrong on that one. He wants you alive, for the time being." Julan's frown deepened and she needn't bother hide it around _him._ She glanced over her shoulder at Qiánxíng and Zhou. They looked far less imposing and grand right now, but she kept to herself around them all the same.

"...Why?" She already had an idea. The crow tipped his head up, literally looking down his nose at her,

"You know better than that. You know why. He wants your sibling."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Julan cut in, shifting back a tad. "What do you get out of betraying him?"

"Oh ho, I'm not betraying the Lord I serve." The black avian dipped into a bow, as if honouring the non-present loon himself. There was a smugness to it that Julan didn't admire at all. "He thinks you know all of this, or at least he thinks your _handlers_ do."

"So..." Julan waited. The crow's smirk vanished and he moved into a stiffer position himself.

"Turn yourself in, Girl. Avoid horrible bloodshed for your friends and...Relatives. Mastering Kung Fu will do nothing against Lord Shen's weapons. The canons are just the start. They will all die – and you'll be dragged back to Gongmem. Or you can drag yourself back. Either way, that's how this'll end." He tilted his head, voice lowering.

"But you can save them. At a price."

Julan looked down and said nothing for a long while. Then, without looking back at the crow, she scowled. "My sibling will be drawn out like I was. We'll both be dead. He – matters more than..."

She'd really said that.

She'd really...

Julan felt sick. The crow was smirking openly at her now, and it was clearly what he'd wanted to hear. "Of course **he** does." Julan's stomach flipped at her slip up. Had her IQ drowned itself a second ago? She swallowed and lifted her head, trying to keep herself calm.

Her voice shook, angry and bitter, "I care about Teegan, and the Masters who helped me." She glanced back at Qiánxíng and Zhou and her face hardened, "I don't wish them harm, even after their treatment of me. I know it's wrong but I've never complained. I don't wish harm on any of them."

"But if you had to choose..."

"What good does this do?" Julan cut in. "Finding out my twin's the most important person to me isn't exactly a revelation, Crow-Boy." The crow _actually_ gave a small start. Then, he snickered. It turned into a louder, inward chuckle that made Julan frown so deeply that it hurt her face.

"My. How like your father you really are – I don't think he should bother with the son. Clearly the danger is all in _you_. But it does matter, girl. Every little detail of an enemy matters. I know what you're willing to sacrifice for him now."

"What are you willing to sacrifice for Shen?" Julan retorted. It was a childish act, turning the question back on him – but it seemed to have an effect. The Crow responded with a dark frown.

Julan glanced sideways. But she'd been a moron and said too much. Maybe she could shove him in a pot or something...he wasn't that big. She glanced at a nearby box that had been filled with supplies earlier that day. The crow didn't look impressed.

"Don't even _try_ it." He turned; ready to take off, stick-thin legs bending when Julan blurted out:

"Wait!"

Her voice cracked in the silence. Her relatives shifted. Croc and Ox remained still. The crow turned very, very slowly to face her again. Julan breathed in, and force a frown back into her face.

"What happened with my mother? D you know?"

She expected a smirk, and crude teasing. Riddled words and half-answers. But the Crow didn't smile. He replied with an unreadable, empty look. "That was before my acquaintance with Lord Shen. Whatever occurred between him and your mother didn't end well, that is for certain. But it did refresh his wolves' loyalty somehow..."

Julan's eyes widened, "The wolves...? Why would you – tell me that?"

The Crow smiled now. "I loathed their leader. A good jab at his ego from anyone – even you – is an amusement for me. Please do consider coming quietly. I'd rather not get my wings dirty over your guardians."

And he fluttered off into the night, leaving Julan knelt there, wings on her knees, head bent. Her blood was red raw. Her face was burning, heart pounding. But she felt...

She didn't know. She wouldn't be sleeping tonight, that was for certain. _Energy_ was burning through her that had been waiting to surface for years. It kept her awake for a long, long while.

She couldn't believe everyone else had _slept through that._

...

It was night. But the factories were alight. Tigress decided she loathed the smell of it. There was something about it, these places that made her insides boil hotter than any of their furnaces. The air felt...poisoned, dirtied. The firework factory was an ugly assortment of wood and metal that scarred Gongmen City like a botched painting. They'd docked the ship and left the wolves that had once manned it bundled under a sheet, gagged and hidden. They'd gotten here in quick time. They stood outside the factory; red lights burning through the inky sky. Tigress's senses were at their peak.

Monkey slunk to her side; Viper by her other ankle. Mantis hopped onto her shoulder. The gap Crane left felt ever more present. They had no eyes in the sky, and surveyed the premise would be a lot harder...

"I don't think we need a plan that's too elaborate." A hushed, sing-song voice coined from her behind. Teegan pushed past and crouched low, gazing up at the spike-lined 'fence' that surrounded the factory. "They have those at Shan Jian, too. May just be wood, but it keeps people out pretty effectively."

"Shen is insane, but he isn't dumb." Viper said. Something in her voice made it sound like even her patience with the dog was wearing thin. Tigress rolled her eyes, and wordlessly, she darted forward. On her silent command the others followed. As a guard passed by, torch in hand, they leaped over the spikes like stepping stones and rolled behind various stacks of barrels, boxes and metal scraps. Teegan followed suit, but as she came to the guard, she slammed her fist on the nape of his neck. He flopped like a doll and she dragged him behind the stacks with them.

She dropped him there, hidden, and rejoined the frowning group. Her smirk faltered. "He felt you pretty jumper's _air_ behind him. He would've gotten paranoid."

Tigress rolled her eyes. The entrance to the factory, a tall, lean rectangular opening, lay ahead. A lieutenant – not the Wolf Boss – barked a few commands at a ducking guard. The heat of the furnaces stung at her eyes, even from out here. The doors began closing. Tigress's frown disintegrated as she saw _another_ canon – shaped like a metallic dragon – was pushed past her line of view. The wolves heaved at the weight, the metal clunks sounding like a warning bell through the din.

"If all of those weapons leave the building, China will fall." She muttered.

"Then we bring down the building." Viper beamed. Teegan gave her a surprised, but approving look.

"Now that's more like it...and we can be done in five minutes."

Tigress arched a brow.

"Hey guys."

Mantis had tugged the attention to himself. He was poised upon one of the barrels. In a pincer, he lifted some of the powder from within. Tigress's face cleared. It was so ridiculously simple. This whole factory was a tinderbox.

Tigress looked down at what her elbow was leaning on. Fireworks. Her eyes widened just a pinch. "All right. Let's go." She lifted the box. Teegan scooped up the barrel – Mantis still sat upon in (he gave a small yelp of disbelief), and strode after her.

...

 _Tigress had been breaking into places long before she'd ever considering applying it in her training. Only...mostly it was breaking out. In the beginning, when she had been very small at the orphanage, the door to her room was nowhere near as formidable as it was when Shifu arrived. Not all of the furniture inside was broken. Up until then, when she was beginning to toddle about and garbling speech, she'd been...almost normal. A cuddly little kitten. The phrase made her nose wrinkle nowadays. Childhood before training, before meeting Shifu...it was a part of her life she wanted to forget. She'd been so small when things began breaking in her hand. A glass of water, a toy._

 _They'd looked at her like she was a monster. She'd been a monster. No matter what people said today – not even Shifu – changed her mind on that. Was it unfair to call herself that? Perhaps. Did it make it any less true? No. She needed discipline. Harsh discipline. If she hadn't had Kung Fu...who knows what she would have become._

 _The first time they'd locked her room was when she was four. She remembered feeling hungry one night and opted to sneak a dumpling. She'd trotted to the door, tugged...and it didn't open. She couldn't describe the feeling. She remembered all of their faces, their uneasy, almost disgusted faces, had appeared in her mind at that moment. Like it had all come together in a silent, damning statement. We don't like you. It hadn't been fair. So she hit the door._

 _It broke clean off its hinges. By the time she was five, it had been nailed back in place so much it looked less like a door and more like a patchwork quilt. She remembered when the new, metal door was brought in. She was sitting on her bed, toes tucked under the feet, knees pulled to her chest, as several hired boars dragged it down the hall. She stared, bewildered, with a helpless drowning feeling, as they locked it into the stone. They'd swung it shut and locked it without even looking at her._

 _This door cut away any light. None escaped underneath or around the edges. No window. It had been dark enough to send her into a panic. She'd cried all night. Tigress didn't usually cry, not even then. By morning there was a newly formed pattern of claw marks on one side of the door. What made it worse was that elsewhere, she knew, the staff and other children were trembling in their beds at the idea of her existence..._

 _Cells and dark places didn't hinder her now. But she loathed metal._

 _..._

Shen was still in mid-practice when Wu Yu fluttered in. The pale Lord straightened, lance in tow, and shot a near menacing glare at his subordinate that would have sent several wolves running. "And what makes you think you can just burst in here?"

"Apologises, my Lord." Though he didn't sound particular remorseful as he dipped into his usual bow. "I encountered your..."

Shen's eyes distinctly narrowed.

"The girl." Wu Yu corrected himself. Shen paced to the left, twirling his weapon under his arm with a gentle swish, towards one of the tables located in the overhang. Below him the meddling works clunked on; the heat enough to send the inexperienced reeling. But he'd been working in such conditions for so long, the effects barely hindered him. He stopped at the table, scooped up the cup of wine sitting upon it, and took a small, tight sip. The crow watched him, waiting, like an observant statue.

"Sir...there is something that you should know." As he spoke, Wu Yu noticed the Soothsayer being led into their midst by one of the gorillas. He looked especially exasperated, though at this point the old woman looked perfectly docile. A quizzical look latched onto Shen as soon as the peacock came into her sights. "The other child."

"Hmm?" Shen remained with his back to him, though for all his nonchalance, the crow didn't miss the flicker in his eyes.

"It is a boy, My Lord. A son."

The Soothsayer's frown deepened. Shen placed the cup down upon the tabletop, slowly. Then he laughed. A low, quiet, short laugh. "How sweet." A girl, he imagined as a smaller version of that _woman._ She's turned out looking like a scruffy combination of both of them...part of him wondered what his son _looked_ like. If he had been cursed at birth as he was. But that thought ebbed away like dust in flame.

"Girl or boy, it makes no difference." Soothsayer ventured slowly. Shen smirked at her. What had she been concerned about? That he was that old-fashioned that he'd see the boy as more of a threat, or want him _dead_ even more because he was more like himself than the girl simply for being a fellow disenfranchised prince?

But the boy was no prince, the girl no princess. They were...

Shen rolled his eyes and turned away from her. Soothsayer's face softened a little. "The cup you choose to fill has no bottom. It is time to stop this madness. You will not be able to go through with it, Shen. And by the time you realise this, it'll be too late to remedy the harm."

"I am not the weak _runt_ you knew me as, Soothsayer." Shen's whole demeanour changed. Wu Yu side-stepped along the railing on the overhang, quietly putting space between him and the Lord. Shen looked paler, eyes wider, his voice so much huskier than it had been a mere moment ago. It was these slips that Wu Yu had come to know as the times you didn't persist with Shen. "Did you believe I wouldn't kill all of the pandas?"

His voice lightened, like he was talking gently to a child. It made the words all the worse. Soothsayer didn't look angry. A saddened expression came to her. "No, Shen. But this is different."

"How is it different?" Shen turned his gaze down at the metal works. Something about his tone suggested the question was rhetorical. Wu Yu watched the Soothsayer hobble to the peacock's side, too short to see over the railing.

Wu Yu tilted his head, eyes cast away from the two. Their voices he couldn't escape.

"Do you think this will make you feel better?"

"As a start."

"Is this what you want your legacy to be?"

"I'm not the first Lord who dealt away with unwanted offspring."

 _CRACK. CRASH._

A loud crash interrupted their increasingly dark exchanged. A thundering 'rolling' sound reverberated off the many metal surfaces. Shen's wings flew onto the railing and he leaned over, eyes near popping. The goat stood on her tip toes; eyes just gracing over the tip of the railing. Wu Yu hopped closer. The factory entrance had burst open and something was wheeling in at an incredible speed. It crashed into two wolves and sent them flying in either direction and skidded to a thundering halt various levels below where they were standing.

A cart filled with explosives. All of them lit.


	14. Chapter 14

_I apologize so, so much, for the lack of updates and info. One reason was that I got swamped with other stuff and time swooped by. Kung Fu Panda 3 didn't come out where I was until two months after the initial release, so my Kung Fu mood was dampened. I wrote four pages of this chapter on schedule, then got stuck. Got to five a month later, and then watched Kung Fu Panda 2 with my sister. Suddenly, mojo came back enough for me to finish this chapter._

 _I have a less vague idea of where to go from here, at the same time still making it up as I go. It's a mix. I don't know when I'll update, or if I will. I apologise for that, for promising I would then disappearing. Plans just changed. If there is going to be an update, it won't be very soon. I apologise, but hope you enjoy this chapter._

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Chapter 14

Pins and Needles

Wu Yu was the first to react.

"Sir, explosives!" He hissed and Shen swiped out a wing so fast that even his skilled crow couldn't hiss getting smacked into the beak.

"Of course they're explosives, you fool! _Put them out_!"

"Happy New Year's Gift!"

The sing-song call, with an odd accent to it, rang out from the entrance. Shen squinted to see, his temper flaring dangerously under his feathers. There they were, the 'Fearsome Five' skulking in the doorway, their faces set in the smuggest of expressions. The monkey looked especially jubilant.

Shen's beak curled. It was amusing, in a way, that they thought they could defeat someone who had been working with explosives all his life with gun powder. Did they really think...?

He swooped down to the lower levels, snatching up a handful of it. "...They want an explosion, we'll give them one." The wolves' faces blanched around him.

Down below the wolves had lunged on the piles of simmering powder like bees to a honeycomb; they paws dabbed out the cinders quickly and effectively. At the doorway, Tigress's face hardened. She'd overlooked that – these wolves were dolts, but after working with gunpowder they must have been accosted to putting out accidental lightings.

She turned her head. Far ahead, she could see molten metal pouring through the din. A lot of it. Just how many more canons did he need? "If we dislodge its flow, we can destroy the factory." The hot liquid would cause any wood it fell on to combust. Maybe their initial 'explosion' plan would commence after all.

"There has to be something keeping that giant cauldron of molten metal up there."

Teegan was pointing upwards. Viper clicked her tongue behind her teeth, "Huh. That _is_ a pretty big cauldron."

It was hovering over a moving belt of some kind; pots, pans, forks, any kind of metal pouring into the tubs. Tigress inhaled slowly.

"Alright. Split up, let's tear this place apart."

Monkey was the first up to the suspended tub, avoiding the scalding metal and hefting himself onto the hook keeping it aloof. He began pulling at the chain, aiming to ease it out of place, when he spotted something white and dotted with red.

Shen was stalking along the upper floors, staring down intently at Tigress and Teegan as the two begrudgingly made their way through a throng of wolves. The primate opened his mouth to call but inhaled something – something like dust but far, far worse.

He gagged. His grip on the chain slipped and for a moment he plummeted – his tail whipped out and curled around the end of the chain and he hung just above the molten liquid, his head reeling. His eyes were stinging with whatever it was and he could barely breathe or **see**. He stared around the blurry factory, trying to locate a familiar shape.

Tigress looked up and spotted Monkey in his sorry state. He was waving his arms around like he was...

A rare flicker of surprise rippled over his face. "What?!"

Teegan turned, having just kicked another wolf out of the way when she spoke. "What is –"

She was gone. A black-grey blur had slammed head-on into her and tackled right off the floor. She and the blur crashed into the ground below, barely missing the moving belt.

Tigress leaped onto the railing, about to go after her, when a crooning laugh sounded behind her.

She acted first, swinging a leg around to hit Shen full on in the side, but a string whipped out and hooked around her ankle. She was tugged right off the railing and a knife flew past her cheek.

Growling viciously she snapped the string and lunged at the peacock, going for his head, but he swooped out of way quicker than a zephyr.

Then something hit her face. It could have been a smoke grenade, but smoke grenades didn't blind or poison your lungs so quickly. Tigress heard a blast tremble on the lower floors, but where she couldn't see. She breathed in, trying to drag in fresh air but failed. Her insides were on fire, it was worse than poison, worse than suffocating –

She saw a pair of burnt, metal-glad feet. Viper fell by her side, Monkey on the other. Mantis was huffing behind her, she heard his voice. Shen chuckled, quietly, so only they would hear.

"I'm rather enjoying myself." He crooned, stepping over their hacking bodies; talon-ended feet digging into Tigress' shoulder. She bore her teeth; her face felt stiff and unfamiliar. They'd failed. She was glad for the pain; she couldn't feel the sting of horror beneath it...

The crow was gone.

"Don't worry. I won't have you done away with yet." Shen drawled, not even looking at the sorry wretches he was addressing. They barely heard him through their addled state. Below that floor, on the dirt below, the dog was being pinned to the ground by the Wolf Boss; her arm twisted behind her back, an inch away from snapping.

Teegan could see the martial artists, the pride of China, lying on the ground like they were a breath's way from death. Her furious expression waved, for once, worry took hold of her sole. Above her she heard the wolf snicker, digging his hand further into the back of her neck.

"Warned ya about what would happen." He said, lowly. "Now you get to watch."

"He'll wreck China. This...this is..." Teegan had no sarcasm, no comeback. They were...they were...

Shen signalled once to the ape guards, and they dragged the Five away. The sound of their bodies being pulled like bags of flour made Teegan's ears bend. "China is _helpless_ without their precious Kung Fu." Shen murmured, and yet she heard him even from below.

The Wolf Boss smirked.

...

Have you ever felt like your bones have turned to lead? Julan felt it. The ship had barely bobbed against the shore when they received the message; dumped on their heads by one of Shen's subordinate crowds without a second glance. He'd known where they were the whole time. Julan was sitting by the water, listing to it trickle into the pebbles, as Ox hollowly read out Shen's 'terms'. Simple, really, her life for their friends. So easy.

Ox and Croc said nothing. The former lowered the scroll. "...I told you. I warned you all, this would happen."

"Four of the Five Greatest Kung Fu Masters – captured so easily?" Zhou murmured, still pale and unkempt after his fever. The last Kung Fu Master – Crane, Julan was sure, was struggling to stand.

"I h-have to get help, somehow." He said. He stepped forward and his body stooped dangerously to the left – Julan was on her feet and before she could stop herself she'd caught the wounded avian before he hit the ground. "Ah..."

"We have to take you to the Valley of Peace. China will be on lockdown by then." Ox turned away and began striding off. Julan's breath caught in her throat.

"Hey – wait – you're just gonna leave them? After they broke you out?!"

"We warned them of what would happen." Ox returned coldly. Something soared in her chest, and it wasn't panic. How could he -?!

Julan looked to Croc, who appeared less stone-faced about it, but he avoided her eye.

"We did not ask them to break us out."

"But Teegan..."

Qiánxíng seized hold of her wing, effectively cutting her off. "It was their duty to protect us! What do you want us to do, go back with battleaxes?!"

Crane looked heart-wrenchingly gutted. His wing broken, he could do nothing. Julan knew that feeling, she'd known it all her life. "N-no...we can get them back. All he needs is me."

Ox and Croc stiffened, turning to look each other as if to affirm what she just said. The silence held them like a totting arrow. Crane cautiously glanced up. Zhou and Qiánxíng did a double take as well. The latter scowled ferociously, "Didn't you hear the Soothsayer?! You're the one who's supposed to be an end to him, or some other voodoo! And, if I'm not mistaken, the reason all of this happened was to keep you safe."

"No, no. This isn't a suicide mission. I'll pretend to turn myself in." Julan said, and she felt something click in her head, her own words opened up a plan of their own. A ghost of a smile slipped onto her lips. It was an odd expression that fit...very well on her bony face.

Qiánxíng's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

Julan stared at her, big eyes wide and blank. The group, even the Kung Fu Masters, were a little unnerved by this display. Then she stepped forward and plucked a long pin from her female relatives' sleeve – one meant to keep the fabric in place. Luckily it didn't do much harm to her modesty. "What do you think you're –"

Julan was staring at the pin with a shaky resolve. "...Does anyone kn-now...any kind of poison we could get from nearby?"

 _Creak._

Crane's jaw fell open. Zhou stepped back, a wing over his chest. Croc peered around his comrade's leg, staring at the girl warily. However, slowly, ever so Slowly, Ox allowed a smile to pull on the end of his wide lips.

Qiánxíng's eyes narrowed and she full-out smirked. "Now you're thinking like a noble woman, my girl." She began pacing, slowly, with a swish of fabric. "You pretend to _escape_ from us. Turn yourself in - Oh the poor little dear who wants to sacrifice herself for her friends!" She turned theatrically, feathers on her forehead to feign a faint. "Then...when Shen is going off on one of his monologues –"

"I get that he does that a lot." Crane noted stiffly,

"You jam the pin into his neck. He'll never see it coming." Qiánxíng laughed, "Oh, it's a perfect kill."

"W-wait, you're asking a little girl to commit –" Crane was promptly cut off by Julan herself. The girl was quivering but clutching the pin as tightly as she could.

"I'll do it." A frown muddled its way onto her face, "I'll be able to kill Shen this way. He won't see it coming, you're right. He thinks I'm weak, scrawny, everyone does. It'll be the perfect assassination."

Qiánxíng nodded slowly, smirk still in place. Perhaps, this was the closest she could get to being proud. Then her gaze hardened and she stepped closer, a wing tight around Julan's shoulders. The girl flinched.

"Remember, it must be at the last minute, when he's close. If you go charging up to him he'll know the plan and stop you. As quick as possible, one hit, and then run. The wolves will scatter like a headless chicken."

"This is madness." Zhou said, and Crane gave him a hearty nod. Ox shrugged, however.

"Hmm, it's impressive. Not Kung Fu, but subtle enough to work against someone who uses force such as Shen. This might work."

"And if it doesn't?" Crane and Zhou said, the only two apparently 'sane' people here. Croc seemed glad to remain on the fence. Apparently poisonous assignations weren't a thing he'd dealt with.

"...Then my brother will have to take him down, somehow." Julan mumbled. Her feathers shook. She could die. Failing to assassinate Shen? Could be the last thing she'd ever done. Or not done.

But...Shen would come after them, her brother. His crow knew exactly where they were and Teegan...if she did this, everyone would be safe. The Kung Fu Masters, her friend, her brother. Everyone. And if she failed, and worse yet, if she ran, the twisting in her stomach would remain, forever.

"I can do this." She repeated.

"A do it you will." Qiánxíng drawled. "This is going to be _golden_."

...

They hadn't needed a town or a merchant. Croc had gone into the water and returned an hour later with an incurable poison from the waterbed. It didn't go through the skin; it had to be spiked into the bloodstream. Needle to the neck. Her weapon, a tiny pin, was tucked into the fabric of her clothes as they set up camp. The sky turned black, the clouds shrouded the moon like a funeral veil. The summer air was stuffy and uncomfortable, but she still felt cold.

Julan could feel the needle against her side in the fabric. It was like she could feel a pulse, a small amount of power, a taste, vibrating from it. She didn't know how she felt in response.

"So how does it feel to be more important than the rest of China?"

"..." Julan took her time sitting up. There was the crow, sitting right at the bank. Once again, the others were all asleep. "It feels like hell on earth." Julan whispered back.

The crow tipped his peak up, as if they were merely discussing the weather. "So you've heard of your 'friends' capture?"

"I have. I'm..." She looked away. 'Pretend to escape'. That had been a plan. Make it look like she was recklessly trying to save the word through her own sacrifice. It sounded even cheesier now that the enemy was here. "I'll be going back, you know."

"Of course." The crow spoke with a loftiness only the most mocking could achieve, yet somehow he laced it with indifference. Julan was on her knobbly feet and wandering past him, and for once, the crow seemed startled.

"You plan to go now?"

"Yes."

"By yourself."

"You almost sound worried."

Julan heaved herself onto the boat as quietly as a mouse. The avian was eyeing her, noting her sharp, snippy tone. His beak curled. Julan threw him a withering look, though it itself withered after a moment. She grabbed a long pole and gently pushed the ship away from the bank.

"Your father will be delighted to see you." The crow purred. Julan didn't turn back to face him. He took off, feathers blending vividly into the dark and empty sky. The girl felt the chill in the summer air, the stirring of the water. The terror. But, below, buzzing excitement. A giddy kind of fear.

...

A darkened room, lit by blurry light behind shoji walls. Faint patterns resemble feather and reeds tangled into one. A body stirred, brown eyes opening in the barely existent light. Muffled thuds had awakened the youth from his troubled sleep. He sat up; a crack in the screen door allowing but a small line of light into his room. Glossy blue feathers tipped by green reflected the light. He blinked.

A paw seized the edge of the door and wrenched it open. The boy ducked away, wing raised to shield himself. "What -?!"

"On your feet. We have word from your relatives, Lord Zhou and Lady Qiánxíng."

Brown eyes widened.

...

Shen felt an almost cosy kind of contentment. The invigorating sensation following an ordeal; like the last of your tasks had been taken care of and you could relax. The Four had been jailed, chains entangling ever limb, guards positioned on every angle. The dog mercenary in the hands of his lieutenant, ready for interrogation. His foes on the run, and the rest of the country unprepared for what was coming. Yes, he felt very relaxed.

The whole in the throne room floor had been patched up by several beams; a small tear in an otherwise beautiful chamber. The Soothsayer was quietly swerving her incenses sticks around in their jar, face heavy.

"I will soon have the boy within my sights as well, Soothsayer." Shen called, plainly, holding a cup of fresh herbal tea in one hand, "Any last bets on your part are welcome."

"You believe your parents wronged you. Do you honestly see your father in the son you've never met? And your daughter...Feng Wei is nowhere in her face."

Shen's expression darkened. "You always find a way to dampen my mood."

Wu Yu swept in from the balcony, setting himself down on the table by the teapot. Shen arched a brow. The crow was smirking.

"Good news, sire. Good news indeed."


	15. Chapter 15

_I dunno what inspired this...I'm sorry for the wait, motivation for this has its ups and downs._

* * *

Day break, they call it. Day looked broken all right. The horizon was streaked with crack- like lines of red and yellow. The shadows were short. Leaving not many places for one to hide. Yet, when the city should be bustling, all the shutters were shut taught and blinds pulled down as far as they could go. The archway leading into the south-east side of the side, ground worn by various track marks. Farmers came through here to sell their produce.

Julan poked her head around the stone, and peered around the street. Wings coming together to fiddle with the end feathers, the girl slipped inside, wandering down the desolate street. Her footsteps and heartbeat seemed to come into unison, and pound against the silence like a gong. She tried to breathe. Her composure was wavering.

A low growl. Her eyes widened. A swivel of the head, and there was a wolf prowling out of the shadows. Then another. Then another.

Soon, they were everywhere. It took everything Julan had to stay where she was, scrawny and timid and a breakable as a toothpick, as the Wolf Boss appeared before her, his chest heaving with a lowly chuckle. "Boy, did you pick a wrong day to be the hero."

Julan said nothing, but swallowed.

...

"Our forces are on their way to Jan Shian as we speak." Wu Yu murmured, the hum of the battlement building and preparations underway merely octaves lower than his voice. The air was thick with the scent of smoke and ash, yet there was a sharpness too it that cleared the head, and bit at the skin. "And the girl will be here presently."

"Not like her mother at all, throwing her life away like this." Shen said, brows up but eyes lidded, an eerily mixture of disdain and perhaps, cruel fondness, working its way into his voice. "She's made everything far easier than expected. Perhaps it'll buy her friends some time."

"Speaking of our captives, sir, they've had to use the gas pellets on the tiger and dog several times already. We cannot hold them alive forever." Wu Yu followed the peacock as he strode along the overhang, eyes on the melding platforms below. Shen's talons sounded a quiet clink through the din. His brow furrowed sharply in thought,

"We won't need air in their lungs for very long," He drawled. "Three days is all we need. They do not need to be pretty, or even in one piece. Just as long as they last until their purpose is served."

"Yes, sir." Wu Yu said, his eyes sliding sideways, in thought. Shen saw, him, and a more indignant look flashed over his face,

"What?"

"The boy, sir. If he finds out his sister is dead, he may decide he has more of a cause to oppose you." The crow remarked. Shen laughed, mirthlessly.

He wasn't a Kung Fu Master like the former steward of this city, or his fellows, but he'd beaten them as easily as knocking over a cup. Some waif kept hidden away all his life wouldn't stand a chance. "Let him come, perhaps it'll be more amusing."

A side-glance of thought.

"Where is the wolf?"

"Scouting the city." The crow quipped, apparently not very impressed. Shen scoffed, _very_ lightly.

"Or maybe he's just out buying you a gift." A roughened voice called. Shen's head whipped around and he was about to scold the mutt for such an insubordinate tone – when he tossed something forward. A blur of red-brown and peach struck the floor with an 'oof'.

Shen's brow flew up.

The girl dragged herself to her feet, apparently permanently wide eyes glancing rapidly around the smoke-filled area before finally coming to land on him. Then the crow. To his great surprise (and he'd admit, amusement) a scowl crossed her face. Rather comical, it looked about as threatening as a kitten.

"My lady." Wu Yu said, cordially. Shen allowed a laugh, but made it clear by his scowl that he didn't appreciate the term – jest or not.

"That's a long stretch, even by her mother's bearings." He drawled, slinking forward just a step. The girl flinched, a wing rising a tad, but she didn't flee. Shen arched a brow, by smiled all the same.

Such a wretched little creature. He almost pitied it.

"Well, girl, I'm sure you're feeling proud of yourself."

The small peahen glanced sideways, and said nothing. Shen's own gaze flickered to the wolf and the crow. His tone grew sharp.

"...Leave us."

Confusion swept across the girl's face as they two moved away, sending her empty, less-than sympathetic looks as they departed. They were alone. The shadows seemed to stretch, and the girl must have sensed that whatever time he'd decided to give her out of amusement was slipping away rapidly.

"..." She looked his way.

Shen, instead of attacking outright, held out a wing towards the railing. "Come here. I wish to show you something."

Smooth and callous, yet laced with pleasantry, enough to make anyone quiver. The girl moved forward, wings clasping together, to the railing, the closing space between them clearly putting her on the last of her nerves. She reluctantly peered over the side at the molten works below. The fire, the pouring liquid, the clanging metal – for those unused to it, the sight was jarring.

"...Wh...what is this?" She murmured. Shen's brow quirked.

"The future."

"...It looks like...death to me."

Shen laughed, huskily. "That too."

She blinked. He didn't look at her, instead eyeing the construction below. His smile faltered in thought. "I built myself up from the dirt for years, long before you'd uttered your first word. Careful planning and immense amounts of patience..." He paused, his murmur dropping, so even she strained to hear.

"To gain what you want in this world, you have to endure. I will not have that for nothing."

The girl swallowed. "...It isn't endurance if it...doesn't hurt you."

Shen said nothing for a moment, eyes narrowing. Then his head tilted her way, passive. "Hmm. If you refer to yourself...then yes." His smile turned dark. "You have a point."

Light caught. Julan had lunged, needle poised, a screech ripping from her throat. Shen heard the sing of metal and threw himself back, eyes bulging in shock as she stabbed it forward, narrowly missing his neck –

His talons stabbed down over her foot, painfully pinning her in place, and he swept a wing around and struck the back of her neck ,sending her forward – and clean off the overhang onto the belt below. Julan landed with a painful flop.

She was moving. Dazed, the girl pushed herself back upright, adrenaline the only thing making such a recovery possible. She leaped off the moving belt onto another gallery –

A knife struck the wooden wall right by her head. A short gasp escaped her beak. Shen had swooped down to the same level, a twirl of light signalling his lance was out. No more talk, no more games. She'd failed, and she was going to die.

Panic swelled in her chest. Julan squeaked and hurtling forward; Shen missed cutting her in two by a second. She banked around the corner, putting a support beam between herself and the peacock. The lance chopped into the wood, sending splinters flying. She ducked away, wings flying up to block the shower. "Ah –"

She heard him give a sigh of annoyance and drag the lance out of the wood – few precious seconds to speed around the corner, pressing her back against another beam in an attempt to hide –

A knife hit the wood by her shoulder. That hadn't worked. Julan leaped off this gallery onto the bridge between another, stumbling, clawing at the rope to keep herself upright. Shen skidded to a halt directly above and took aim –

The first blade sliced the rope tethering one end. The bridge jolted and slanted into a lopsided position. Julan caught onto the wood, keeping herself suspended, but then another knife came zipping out and cut one end off completely.

The rope snapped, and the bridge swung downward. The smoke whistled in her ears and she crashed into the bottom gallery. Several wolves stepped back. Her shoulder ached, but she didn't think anything was broken. Luck must have been on her side, or wanted some sport out of her yet.

Shen swooped down from above, tail fanning, and spotted her instantly. Red eyes narrowed, and staggering, Julan forced herself onwards. Her breath wouldn't go through her lungs right, the smoke, the stitch in her side, she couldn't go on any longer. But she kept going. Under the gallery, trying to knock a barrel or two in her wake. Shen's lance dug into one of them and flipped them aside. He was getting closer. Julan turned to face him, now jogging backwards, gripping her shoulder. Her chest rose and fell in a maddened quiver.

Shen wasn't smiling. He spun his balance, eyes wide and unblinking, they broke out into open area, no shadows to hide, nothing to put between them. Julan sprinted for it.

She saw a short, but broad figure turn her way. Curling horns and wide. The Soothsayer stared, her face growing slightly ashen, the girl heard the lance swing inches away from her head and Julan _dived._

With a broken cry she fell against the goat, she felt a pair of strong arms scoop her off the ground and she buried her face into the old woman's side, curling up. She heard Shen skid to a halt directly in front of the shaman, and shuddered.

"Soothsayer." Shen breathed, dangerously, "Hand her over. _Now."_

A hand stroked gently at the back of her head. "Shen." The Soothsayer hissed. "This is monstrous and you know it."

Shen lowered his lance and huffed, slightly out of breath, "You don't think I won't just drag her from you?"

The old goat's eyes narrowed. "I'd offer you a _try_ , Shen."

Silence. Their gazes didn't break for an entire moment. As Shen slowly caught his breath, he straightened up, and scoffed once. "Very well, Soothsayer. Have it your way. The girl lives."

Julan's eyes opened.

"I need _something_ to draw her brother out, after all..."

"W...wait, no." Julan murmured. Soothsayer held her shoulders firm. Her head whipped back and forth between them, "You can't – No!"

Shen chuckled, lightly, and motioned to the left – an ape bounded out towards the two. The Soothsayer's scowl deepened, stoutly, and the girl tried to jump away. But both were lifted as easily as a pair of flour sacks. The girl pounded her wing against the ape's arm, her voice cracking,

"No! I won't let you do this!"

Shen turned his head to look back at her, smiling. "Oh, sweet girl, you should've thought of that before you came here."

She went silent, at a loss for words, and simply stared back at him as she was dragged off with the Soothsayer. When they were out of his sight, his smile faltered into an emptier frown. Prolonging her fate was all the old goat could really do. Once he had both of them, no amount of bluffs could save them.

Besides...pragmatically, the other one would scurry out of his hiding place faster if the girl was alive. When he returned to the previous overhang, he found the needle gleaming on the crooked floorboards. He scooped it up, holding it into the light to examine it.

He smelt something sharp and biting, and saw something dousing the sharp end of the pin. Poison.

...That girl was more maniacal than he'd previously thought.

...

The world came into focus doused in pain and breathlessness. Tigress was aware, first off, that her entire body was stiff and her lungs were scorched. Judging by her sight, her eyes must have been raw. Her head lifted, just a little, and her neck let off a small crackling sound. She stared around through sore, slowly eyes. They were somewhere dark, dry...she could barely hear or smell thanks to all this dust and soot. She cursed, foggily, in her mind. Something stirred beside her. Her head moved with a little more speed this time. Her arms were bound above her head, directly pressed to her side was Teegan. The canine coughed, weakly, and opened her eyes.

"Kitten...?" She muttered, breath thick and raspy. Tigress glanced over her. That wasn't just soot clogging up her throat...sounded like a cracked rib, maybe.

"...I'm here." She muttered, lowly, glancing around. Her vision was slowly but surely clearing. "...The others aren't here. We have to escape, and soon. Feels like they've been throwing in those smoke pellets all night..."

The dog gave a hacking cough. "U-urgh...my whole chest is burning, K-kitty...I can't move."

"You can." Tigress said, quiet but curt. "We need to get out of here. Help me find something to cut these robes, all we need is something sharp."

"Obvi-ously..." The bodyguard wheezed. Tigress didn't wait, scanning the small area. It looked like they were underneath some kind of foundation or something, a basement turned cell. Those bars looked freshly forged. Her nose twitched. They couldn't be far from the factory, with all this ash. But she saw nothing sharp, nothing in her radius.

Teegan lifted her head, with great effort. "U-urgh...maybe if we shimmy up, we can find the end of this beam...actually, no, it goes through the roof. Heh."

"And our legs are chained." Tigress added, pointedly. She'd only just noticed.

A creak. Both heads turned. The Wolf Boss was sauntering in, and the canine at her side made a face at his arrival.

"Look alive, ladies." He bolstered, dusting off his palms, tongue drawing over crooked teeth, "Thought you'd want an update."

Tigress's eyes narrowed. Teegan stared back, deadpan. The wolf's ear twitched and he huffed. "Fine. The peacock girl –"

"Peahen." Tigress corrected, flatly,

" _..."_ The wolf stalked forward and leant down, muzzle inches away from their foreheads. "Laugh all you want, you two. But you know what? Your scrawny little princess turned herself in, and now it's only a matter of time before the other brat scoots his way here with the same dumb sappiness that lead you all to our doorstep."

Teegan's body stiffened. Tigress's whiskers bristled, and she responded in the only way she could. She shifted her neck as far as it would go and –

\- head butted him square in the face. A loud 'crack' sounded through the cell and the wolf staggered back. Teegan huffed out a laugh seconds before the lackey recovered. He shook his head, ears flapping, and then he drew back his arm, claws curling, his face bore in a snarl –

Tigress caught his wrist between chained-up ankles, and twisted. The Wolf Boss's body followed, crashing to the ground at an awkward angle. Teegan slammed her own feet down on his kneecap; Tigress manoeuvred her legs so that the chains wrapped directly around his neck, and pull tight enough to keep him gagging, but not enough to strangle.

Several wolves burst in – but far too late. They stopped short as seeing their leader in such a position, one wrong move away from a snapped neck.

"W-we still have your friends." The wolf rasped, thickly. Tigress glanced down at him. He was right. But they had little options here. But if they were released now, there was only a small chance of them locating the others in the state they were in. On the other hand, she could demand he set the others free...but they had no way of knowing if they'd carry out the other option.

"Unchain us." Her eyes fell on the uncertain wolves, her tone sharp, "Or I'll kill him. I've killed scummier people than your boss."

"Trust me, she will." Teegan noted cheerily, before her voice cut off in a cough. The Wolf Boss snarled her way.

"I-idiots, they w –" Tigress pulled on the chains.

" _Now!"_

One of the wolves exchanged a worried look with the others, and produced the keys. Teegan's smile drew across her muzzle as slow as daybreak.

"I wonder how the peacock's gonna react when he hears this."

The Wolf Boss tried, and failed, to aim a kick at her.


End file.
